Welcome to another poetry-focused post. Today’s topic features Dominique talking about what poetry means to her.
I have a guest come and post on my blog each month talking about poetry so be sure to check out all the Exploring Poetry posts in the series and follow for more!
Dominique, known by her pen name words_by_rose, is a poet and English teacher based in northern Germany. Combining her passion for language with a love for emotional expression, she has cultivated a unique voice through her poetry, which often explores themes of love, healing, and self-reflection. As a teacher, she brings her love of words to the classroom, inspiring students with the beauty of language and literature.
Dominique – Poetry As A Refuge and A Mirror
Poetry, to me, is both a refuge and a mirror. It’s a place where I find my thoughts, emotions, and questions—scattered as they are—gathered into a form that makes sense, even when the world around me doesn’t. It’s both a safe space and a chance for personal exploration and growth.
In a poem, all of life’s inconsistencies are accepted, and that in itself has been a source of comfort and discovery. One of the first things that drew me to poetry was its rhythm. There’s a kind of music to words that goes beyond their meaning, something that you feel before you understand. It’s about that kind of heartwarming feeling you get when you read something your deepest feelings have not been able to express.
Accordingly, poetry is a way for me to navigate complex emotions. Life is rarely simple; it’s full of joy and sorrow, hope and despair, love and heartbreak. These feelings can be overwhelming, and often, I struggle to make sense of them. Poetry is where I can distill these emotions, not to simplify them, but to find a way to coexist with them. In a poem, I can explore my fears and doubts, acknowledge my regrets, and embrace my hopes, all within a few lines. Poetry doesn’t demand answers; it invites me to sit with the questions.
It puts me in a room with pain and heartbreak handing me the courage to sit with them, to name them, and to find meaning in their presence.
Writing poetry has been an especially important outlet for me. In putting pen to paper, I find that I’m able to process experiences in a way that feels almost like alchemy. Raw feelings transform into something new, something crafted. Poetry allows me to take control of the narrative, to shape my story in a way that feels meaningful. Often, I find myself writing about things I can’t talk about openly—the unspoken worries, the unresolved conflicts, the moments of quiet beauty or despair. Poetry gives voice to what I might otherwise keep buried, giving me the space to be honest, even vulnerable, in a way that feels safe.
Reading other poets’ work is equally important to my relationship with poetry. Every poem offers a unique perspective, a window into another person’s world. It’s like entering a conversation with someone I may never meet, someone who might have lived centuries before me, yet whose words resonate deeply. Through poetry, I find camaraderie, as if the poet is saying, “I see you.” It’s reassuring to know that others have felt what I feel that the human experience is, in many ways, universal. It’s like writing in the very same diary.
There’s also something about poetry’s form—the way it plays with space, line breaks, and structure—that feels liberating. Unlike prose, poetry doesn’t require a strict adherence to grammar or sentence structure. This freedom allows for a kind of playfulness, a breaking of the rules that feels both artistic and therapeutic. I love how a single word or line break can change the entire mood of a poem, how ambiguity and openness are celebrated rather than avoided. Each time I create a poem in just four lines, I realize that emotions don’t need much space or words. It is rather about the way someone puts the words together and conveys a specific feeling. Poetry, in its form and function, embraces complexity, encouraging readers and writers alike to find meaning not just in what is said, but also in what is left unsaid.
Poetry also teaches me to see beauty in the mundane and simple. It encourages me to look at the world with fresh eyes, to notice even the smallest of details and appreciate the richness of life. In this way, poetry is not just something I read or write; it is a way of being, a practice of mindfulness and gratitude.
In a world that often values efficiency and speed, poetry asks us to slow down, to pay attention, to savor. It reminds me that beauty can be found in the smallest of moments—a single line, a carefully chosen word, the space between verses. Poetry is a way of seeing, a lens through which I view life with heightened awareness and appreciation. In many ways, poetry feels like home: a place where I can find peace, wrestle with difficult truths, and ultimately, find comfort in the beauty of words.
Thank you, Dominique! I also find that poetry is a great way to make sense of the world. In what way has poetry helped you, reader, express an emotion or understand the complexities of life?