Poetry can feel a little intimidating but there are some hacks if you want to get into it: Read poems out loud. Read them repeatedly. Let the words take space in your head. Over time, you will definitely come to enjoy reading poems and will find that they make sense as well, sometimes even resonating more than well-written prose by your favorite author.

I was petrified of poems and was relieved that I wouldn’t have to read them once they weren’t prescribed syllabus. But once I was out of college, I started picking up random poetry books of my own volition. One of the earliest works I read were some Nepali poems and those by Maya Angelou. I have to admit that not everything made sense but I enjoyed how I felt reading the words till they eventually fell into place. Slowly, I started picking up more poetry books as I could quickly read one or two even during busy days. I would carry a book of poetry in my bag and dip into it whenever I had some time. 

Over the years, I have amassed quite a few volumes of poetry. Gulzar, Rumi, Keats—I have tried to read widely and find what suits my taste. Not everything makes sense immediately but I’m not as intimidated by poems as I once was. I recently picked up ‘The Poetry Pharmacy’ by Willian Sieghart and the book goes everywhere with me. It’s on my bedside table at night. I carry it in my bag. I read a random page whenever I can and somehow whatever I read resonates deeply.The Poetry Pharmacy proclaims to be tried-and-true prescriptions for the heart, mind, and soul. And it indeed is. From mental and emotional wellbeing to love and loss, there are poems in this slim volume for all kinds of ailments. 

The idea of the poetry pharmacy came into being many years ago when Sieghart was asked to prescribe poems from one of his books to the audience during a literary festival in England. What was supposed to be an hour long affair turned into a several hours long event. People queued up to be prescribed a poem that would fix whatever was weighing down their hearts. Sieghart realized that “suffering is the access point to poetry for a lot of people: that’s when they open their ears, hearts, and minds.”

In the introduction to the book, he says sometimes the right words when people are in need can bring great comfort and that creates a love for poetry that can last a lifetime. He urges readers not to worry about their ability to read a poem and to try and read the same poem every night for five nights in a row when it doesn’t make sense. “Keep it by your bed and read it before you switch out the lights,” he says. That’s what I have been doing with The Poetry Pharmacy and the poems in the book have, in many ways, been a soothing balm just when I have needed it. 

Poems like ‘If’ by Rudyard Kipling and ‘Still I Rise’ by Maya Angelou are two of my favorites that fill me with hope. There are many other poems ‘New Every Morning’ by Susan Coolige that has been prescribed for compulsive behavior, ‘The Mistake’ by James Fenton prescribed to get over regret and self-loathing, and ‘Come to the Edge’ by Christopher Logue that can fix lack of courage that feel like big, enveloping hugs that you didn’t know you needed. There’s a poem titled ‘Chemotherapy’ by Julia Darling that I must urge everyone to read. Cancer is unfortunately becoming something we are all dealing with on a personal level: perhaps we have gone through it ourselves or seen a loved one suffer. This poem reminds us that life can’t be made inconsequential by illness and that small pleasures can bring a lot of comfort in the darkest of times. 

The Poetry Pharmacy brings together some of the best poems by poets who understand the human conditions all too well. The book’s layout is such that it has Sieghart’s ‘prescriptions’ on one side and the poem on the other page. His explanations or ‘editorials’ are every bit as uplifting as the poems he prescribes. The book is a complication of 56 universal problems. Read it cover to cover or dip in and out whenever you want to, this brilliant book of poems is guaranteed to be a lifesaver.

The Poetry Pharmacy

William Sieghart

Published: 2017

Publisher: Particular Books, Penguin Random House UK

Pages: 151, Hardcover