Trust the Process and Know the Voice by Alan Anderson

 

The Project

I began a book project near and dear to my heart almost two years ago. A project dedicated to the theme of grandparent grief through the genre of poetry for the most part. My original title for the poetry was, “Plant Them A Garden,” but I saw the need to change this. Through my interaction with grandparents the title became apparent. I call the book idea, “Hidden Poetic Voices: A Reflective Work of Grief, Faith, and Poetry.”

 

This labour of love has taken me into dark places and places of joy as I write the poems. There are poems written to draw out the horror and life changing sadness grandparents experience. I try to balance the horror with glimpses of hope.

 

To date I have over one hundred poems in progress. There is a process I use as I bring my poetry together. The poems all depend on the stories of grandparents who grieve. Most of the stories I hear or read focus on the death of a grandchild and how this grief impacts the lives of grandparents.

 

 

The Process

Please allow me to explain an idea of my process for writing my poetry. This process is like how I make soup as the cooler months come upon us. I often make a broth from a cooked turkey or chicken carcass. Bring the water to a boil and remove the carcass bones. Fresh as possible vegetables, as well as leftover turkey or chicken meat are added to the broth. Salt is added to the mix to taste. I never serve the soup on the day I make it. The soup is cooked on a low heat overnight. The next day the soup is tested for taste. Once I am satisfied the ingredients are ready to party the soup is enjoyed.

 

The illustration of how to make soup serves well as I write poetry. Each poem is a result of hearing stories of grandparents who grieve. Once a story is explained I take time to process the person’s grief experience. The story is the stock of the poetry. I begin to write a poem to capture the essence of the grief story. The words, thoughts, emotions, of the stories, are the ingredients of the poems. In time I will know when the book, the soup, is ready to serve.

 

 

The Voice

The most common opinion I hear from grieving grandparents is, “we don’t have a voice.” This need for a voice is my motivation for this project.

 

Grandparent voices are often hushed by the grief experience of their adult children. This is often a result of the grandparent’s attempt to be, “strong,” for their children. They believe their grief comes second to the grief of everyone else. When grandparents speak about their grief, they use few words. Their few words are often poetic and find their way into hearts and ears ready to listen.

 

In a culture known to deny or evade death and grief we must be gentle as well as real with our words. Every poem sent into the world through, “Hidden Poetic Voices,” is meant to comfort and heal those who grieve.

 

Although I am two years into this project I am not frustrated, neither do I have any intention of laying it aside. I am not going to rush the process. My current part of the process takes time as I review and revise the poems. I love this part. Through this process my hope is the poems will speak with one, “voice.”

Alan lives in Deroche, B.C. with his wife, Terry, and their poodle, Charlie. He contributed stories to Good Grief People by Angel Hope Publishing, 2017; Story by Story: The Power of a Writer, Unstoppable Writers Publishing, 2018; Easter Stories & More by InScribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship, 2021. He is currently working on a book expressing the grief of grieving grandparents entitled, Hidden Poetic Voices: A Reflective Work of Grief, Faith, and Poetry. Alan periodically writes articles for FellowScript Magazine. He has written posts for our InScribe blog since 2015. Blog: https://scarredjoy.ca.