Followers of this blog will know that I love poetry, and frequently share poems that I believe can hlep us be better versions of ourselves. I also write poems. I find poetry writing to be highly therapeutic. Why so? For a long time, I thought that this might have something to do with the “music” of poetry. Because of the unique way a poem is structured – words flowing in the rhythmic pattern of a song, poetry can soothe us when we feel anxious or depressed or celebrate with us in our moments of joy. Somehow, after reading a good poem, I feel better understood, I feel a little lighter, and very often, I feel more consoled by the shared experience of the writer who has “been there”.

Is this just me, or is there a science behind what I felt? That was what I wanted to find out. A tantalizing answer came in the shape of a recent study by Dr. Inna Khazan, a biofeedback researcher and clinician at Harvard Medical School. Her research affirmed my belief in the unique power of poetry to move us deeply.

Biofeedback uses sensitive medical instruments to measure indicators of stress such as blood pressure, heart rate variability and cardio-respiratory synchronization. The latter two indicators are particularly sensitive wellness indicators.

Let’s delve a little deeper into what her study imply for mental wellness. Within a given minute, our heart rate is not constant. In fact, it varies from heartbeat to heartbeat, moving from say, 60 beats per minute (bpm) to 80 bpm and then back down – all within a few seconds. While most lay people will think of such variability as alarming, the opposite is true. According to Dr. Khazan, high heart rate variability (HRV) in a resting state directly correlates with mental health, wellbeing, and even long-term resilience to stress-inducing factors. And it turns out that poetry reading can boost HRV! Meanwhile, while you’re relaxed and enjoying a good poem, another intriguing phenomenon takes place in your body – your heartbeats synchronize with your breath in what is called cardio-respiratory synchronization (CRS). It’s as if your breath and your heartbeat decided to dance in step. Most of us don’t feel CRS because it happens unconsciously and is beyond our control. Importantly, it, too correlates with mental well-being, and is something that poetry reading promotes. A series of studies have shown that reading rhythmic poetry can boost both your resting HRV and CRS (see video below). This is especially so for poetry in long six-beats line, such as the ancient Greek poetry that Plato described as sending reciters into a rhapsodic state.

Not everyone can read ancient Greek poetry, but rhythmic poems written in other languages can also do the job. The important thing is to get started learning to appreciate the memorable and soothing lines of rhythmic poems, whether they are in English, French, or Chinese. Incidentally, a poem does not need to rhyme; what is important is that it has a rhythmic beat. A rhythmic beat is created by a pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line or verse. Here is an example of a free verse that does not rhyme, yet creates a soothing “music” to the ears when recited. It is an excerpt of Barry Wendell’s famous poem, ‘The Peace of Wild Things.’

THE PEACE OF WILD THINGS

I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

Here’s another example of a rhythmic poem. This one is by Denise Levertov:

LIVING

The fire in leaf and grass
so green it seems
each summer the last summer.

The wind blowing, the leaves
shivering in the sun,
each day the last day.

A red salamander
so cold and so
easy to catch, dreamily

moves his delicate feet
and long tail. I hold
my hand open for him to go.
Each minute the last minute.

Here’s a third lovely poem, “Stopping by the Woods” by the great American poet, Robert Frost, read by the poet himself.

Note: This post is adapted from a Nautilus article posted online, entitled, “Feeling Stressed? Read a Poem” by Marissa Frunes, June 27, 2022.