Why Writing Poetry Helps People with Aphasia

Why Writing Poetry Helps When You Have Aphasia

Then see my poem about 2025 and 2026!  I admit it. I was depressed.

You do not need long sentences.

Your do not need perfect grammar.

You can use single words.

Short Lines.

White space.

That matters when language is hard.

Poetry lets you:

• practice word finding
• slow down and choose true words
• express feelings without explaining everything
• write at you own pace
• feel successful, even on hard days

Poetry also helps the brain.

Writing — even a few lines — works on:

• language recall
• reading and writing skills
• attention and focus

But poetry is not just therapy.

Poetry helps with grief, anger, and fear.

It gives shape to feelings that are hard to say out loud.

It turns frustration into something real and visible.

For me, poetry is thinking.

It’s strength.

Sometimes, it’s a relief.

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Living With Aphasia After Stroke: Grief, writing, and Language Practicing at Home.

Living with Aphasia after a stroke affects how we read, write, speak, and understand language.  It also affects how we process grief, stress, and change.  This poem reflects my experience moving from a difficult year to another while living with aphasia — navigating loss, rising costs, political anxiety, and the daily work of language recovery.  Writing at home remains one of the most important ways I practice language and stay connected to my voice.

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25 and 26

Twenty-five was painful.

I lost my mother.

My sister was sick.

The world felt louder, angrier, more unstable.

Politics are depressing.

Democracy is endangered.

Food, housing, healthcare, child care.

All more expensive.

I’m angry.

I write anyway.

Blog.

Poems.

Notes to myself.  I can write but I can’t read what I create.

No problem. Text to Speech.

What I write

will talk to me.

Writing helps me practice language.

Hearing my writing

makes me happy.

Reflections

This poem is not about fixing grief or anger.  It is about adapting. After my stroke, reading my own writing is still hard, but writing itself— is possible —and technology helps bridge the gap. Text to Speech lets my words come back to me in sound.  That matters. Writing is how I practice language. Hearing my words helps me feel whole. On difficult days, that is enough.

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Get Involved with Poetry and Aphasia

Poem’s in Speech. www.poemsinspeech.com

A free zoom program with aphasia.  Write a poem, read it out loud and tell us about it. Learn more about Mark Harder’s Poems in Speech. Give it a try.

Speaking Poetry. Lingraprica Virtua Connection.

This program is supported by Dr. Bri Morrison and Mark Harder. They help people with aphasia express themselves through poetry. The program promotes empowerment, healing, and connection for those navigating language challenges.

What Makes a Poem … a Poem? By Melissa Kovacs.  A video on You Tube for Ted-Ed.

I am going to read this a couple of times.  It is an entertaining way to explain what a poem is. Thank you Mark Harder.