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Awakening a Language Filled with Heart
by Terri Glass
What is a language filled with heart? Many people have forgotten that the power of words has a strong impact on our experience of reality. Slang, profanity, negative criticism permeates our media and creates a cacophony of sound, a discord felt in the heart. Returning to a heart-based language requires a feeling of connection to oneself and a connection larger than the self -- the whole fabric of life. Within the act of writing poetry, lies an amazing gift -- it is the gift of metaphor and the gift of the image. These two incredibly important poetic tools stretch our normal perceptions and allow us to see connections rather than differences, unifying our experience of the world.
Children have an innate ability to feel this sense of connection. You see it in their overflowing energy at play, their love for animals and their awe of the simplest rock or a wiggly earthworm. The following stories and poems were the result of an innovative poetry program for children called Language of the Awakened Heart. This program was a collaborative effort between myself, a community-based artist-in-residence, and Alex Kochkin, president of the non-profit organization Fund For Global Awakening. Together, we developed ten lesson plans that were made into poetry guidebook that explored spiritual values such as joy, generosity, peace, forgiveness, and praise. These lessons were designed to uncover a wisdom we felt children already had, but didn’t have the means to express. Each lesson explained the use of different poetic tools such as metaphor and simile, and worked with visualizations and other means to tap into deep well of the child’s imagination. What came out of this was some very amazing poetry and art by children in grades two through seven.
One of the lessons from Language of the Awakened Heart focuses on the power of praise. The poetic form explained in this lesson is the ode, a form of poetry that exalts its subject matter by complimenting it. A seventh grade student, who had no prior interest in poetry, wrote a very moving poem from this lesson titled An Ode to My Mom. This poem came as a total surprise to the mother for whom the ode was written. The mother had no idea that her daughter felt so deeply about her until she found the poem after several requests from the teacher to locate it for publication. It literally brought tears to her eyes when she read it. This experience led to an open dialogue between mother and daughter, who at the time did not live together. This is a powerful example of the healing power of praise when given a place for expression.
Ode to My Mom
My mom, the one who nourished me when I was young.
The one who held me when I cried and who wiped my tears.
The one who tucked me in when the nights were long.
The one who cut her long golden brown locks of hair
so I would not hide in them when I was shy.
She who gave me life when I was lifeless
and the one who loves me most of all.
-- Theana, seventh grade
The following two poems are other examples of odes written by children from the same lesson plan.
Ode to Mother Earth
In outer space, you look like a beautiful blue ball
spinning so gracefully.
On your orbit around the sun,
You look as if you are spinning through
a circular river of sunlight.
Your rocky surface is your skin.
Your trees are your fingers
reaching for the moon
that you may never catch.
Your tears are the rainfall that gives life
to all plants and animals.
Your oceans feed the clouds
that provide the tears of life.
And your mountains are where I long to be
because that is where I see your beauty best.
-- Devin, fifth grade
Ode to Sleep
Happiness you give,
you give me a new life,
you give my limbs a massage.
When I am with you, I think of all things
no one has known
that are even new to me.
You let me think up my life, my future,
you help me so much.
I owe you so much for your ideas,
your time.
Yes, you renew my life with the energy you give.
You are my other world,
my best world, my favorite world.
Another lesson plan from Language of the Awakened Heart works with exploring the mystery of oneself using the poetic tool of imagery. It is called the I AM poem and has been a success with even “problematic” students. Here a student can describe the various things he or she feels connected to within a framework that is non-threatening but very revealing. In one school where Language of the Awakened Heart was being taught, a fifth grade student named “John” had already been labeled as boy with behavior problems. When first introduced to poetry, he complained he couldn’t write and didn’t have any ideas. By the second lesson, he came so disruptive that he was expelled from class. A week later, John sought out the poetry teacher and begged her to reinstate him. After agreeing not to disturb the class, and with encouragement from the teacher, John began writing a poem from the I AM lesson. He even stayed into recess time to finish the lesson. The following poem is the result of his efforts. It beautifully reveals, through the power of imagery, John’s feelings of anger and isolation.
I am an explorer on the icy surface of Jupiter’s moon.
I am a star giving birth to a solar system of planets.
I am a creature of a desolate world.
I am a single asteroid in the great yellow rings of Saturn.
I am a supernova filled with rage.
I am all these things and I am a silent star.
Many of the lessons from Language of the Awakened Heart touch upon various subjects that instill a sense of well-being. One of these lessons, on joy, provides a framework for children to describe what joy is for them. The poetic device explained is the metaphor -- a direct statement that compares two unlikely objects and suggests they are alike.
During one of the lessons on joy, a second grade student named Sierra wrote, “the wind is also joy. / I like the way it blows through my hair.” Sierra was a very quiet student and didn’t like reading her poetry out loud. Yet she continually surprised me with the way she would construct her poems, which were considerably advanced for a second grade student. At this age, children often struggle with spelling and cannot comprehend abstract topics. Yet there are always a few who can reach further. It is therefore important to aim high with the material presented to see how ingenious the children really are.
My Joy
Joy is a rose petal
that falls into a rain puddle.
The wind is also joy.
I like the way it blows through my hair.
Joy is a fresh brownie from the oven.
Joy is a butterfly
that lands on a flower.
Joy is a kitten or a puppy.
Joy is whatever makes you happy.
-- Sierra, second grade
Here is another wonderful articulation of joy by a sixth grade student.
Joy is a fire with hot chocolate in my hands,
and snuggling up to my mom,
her body warming mine
on a cold winter night,
the cotton soft snow falling outside.
Joy is swimming on a hot summer day,
I feel as free as the wind.
Joy is
the beautiful colors of autumn,
the orange like gold,
the red like ruby,
as they fall from the trees and crunch like chips under my feet.
Joy is friends and family joined together,
and me being one of the many.
-- Catherine, sixth grade
The poet Allen Ginsberg said to young writers, “You are a genius all the time!” This statement instills a sense of self-esteem, giving the poets permission to fully express their ideas and feelings on the page. The word genius comes from the word genie, which means “the spirit that inhabits us” -- all of us, including children. Genius happens at any age.
It was my privilege to be able to pilot the Language of the Awakened Heart program in three schools and see the “genie” appear in so many students’ poems through word and image choices that express authentic feelings. I love working with children because they are candid, spontaneous, and surprise me with what they do know. I call them little parakeets of desire; magenta-winged whirlwinds of activity! They add such color to our adult world, a vibrancy that needs expression, a wisdom that needs a home.
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