Poems in the Waiting Room

A Piece of Selfless Magic
This morning as I sat in the hospital waiting room feeling a bit anxious about having a small skin cancer cut from my shoulder, I looked for relief at the dismal pile of old Women's Weekly magazines. I sighed in dismay until a sky blue brochure caught my attention, it's white words "Poems in the Waiting Room" (PitWR) whispered with promise.

As I started to read, I smiled as the words painted pictures in my mind and lifted my spirits. Let me share one of these beautiful poems with you.

Ode to a Compost Bin
magical processing machine
taking in our potato
and onion peel
carrot tops and pea pods
that rotten apple
and the spotty slice of bread

giving in return
dark, crumbly compost
albeit with pieces
of undigested egg shell

like those sharp bits
of experience
still poking through
our reconstituted
success stories

Charmian Koed (1939 USB 3rd place)

Yours to Keep!
And yes I could keep this little waiting room miracle, take it home and soak in the magic of magic of these words again and again.

I was really touched and grateful for this gift of relief. These PitWR are supplied free to waiting rooms, hospices, prisons, and rest homes with new cards and poems distributed every season.  This project of love is run by a registered charity based in Dunedin, New Zealand and depends on donations to keep running, so please support them. You can also visit there website at www.waitingroompoems.wordpress.com.

Make a Difference in Your Community

After feeling blessed and a bit more at peace in that moment I wondered what if every classroom or school did a similar project for their local community?  Imagine your students learning to write poetry of love, kindness and sharing for a real product, a genuine context, to bring a bit of light and love to some special and perhaps lonely people in your community. I bet they could come up with some great community places to hand them out, perhaps even go read them to the local retirement residents.  The possibilities are endless and effect would be priceless. So to encourage you further, I've made up a basic tri-brochure template in Google Spreadsheet for your class or school to adapt and fill with beautiful words. I also have in in PPT format, just email me if you would like it, alternatively there are many free ones online.

Please pass this idea on, spread the love, and share back in the comments your thoughts and link to your projects.

"Love is a gift of one's inner most soul to another so both can be whole" - Buddha

Please signup to my email list today, and I'll keep you updated with my latest posts and specials, thanks Shaun.

Subscribe to our mailing list

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name

Last Name