Poetry Prompt #5 - From Love to Beloved - Grit & Grace
Survival Therapy helps people develop personal frameworks that help them become survivors. Learning these frameworks help survivors of trauma and abuse develop the sense of self they’ll need to continue living. Our next poetry prompt doesn’t have to be geared specifically for the literal survival of abuse and trauma victims. But we can use our poetry to share a tip or advice of any kind that can help boost someone’s confidence and sense of self in any area of life. For our fifth prompt in the From Love to Beloved series, write your own “Survival Therapy Tip” poem in any style.
Here’s an example from Rachel Joy Welcher’s Two Funerals, Then Easter:
Write an email
you’ll never send.
Edit it,
re-word it,
polish it like a manifesto.
Get it just right, then
leave it sitting in “drafts”
so that somewhere
those words
exist.
Whether you’re a writer or not, letting your words exist somewhere is really great advice.
Here’s my poem based on John 5:
S ign, sign…everywhere a sign.
I think that’s how the song goes.
G od-with-us speaks in signs of healing,
N ot his will, but the Father’s.
S igns of honor and humility.
O bviously a lesson
F or any eager follower.
H e listens, then decides.
E nters into and walks alongside.
A nd so it should be for us:
L ean in, listen, then decide
I f it’s his will or something else.
N ever neglect to keep those eyes open, ever-expectant of the amazing.
G od-with-us, the ultimate sign, sign…everywhere a sign.
Remember to use the hashtag #FromLoveToBeloved when sharing your work!
You can read my last two poems along with the corresponding poetry prompt here and here.
I’m a wife, mama to three, and our rescue dog Riley. If you’re into personality profiles at all, I’m a 1 on the Enneagram, which also makes me a recovering perfectionist and people-pleaser. I’m a writer, speaker, and content creator. I’m a hopeful encourager and freedom fighter who loves God and others…clumsily.
