Poetry will always be my healing force

江蘇 彭向梅

I was eight years old when I tried to write a poem for the very first time.We were just learning how to read and write in school,and my teacher asked us to write a short poem.I remember how I unwillingly put pen to paper and wrote some lines that looked more like doodles（亂寫亂畫）than text.The topic was about spring,and I wrote about the little things that help me realize that the warmer season has arrived:the singing of the birds early in the morning and the first bloom of the spring flowers.

Back then perhaps I did not realize it fully,but it was my way of noticing and enjoying my own happiness at the beginning of spring.Those simple rhymes were my smiles and laughter whenever I saw new life coming out of the winter cold.

I remember a summer sunset in Seoul,years later.Walking slowly beside the river,until the sun fell under the waves,I recalled my hometown,and the love for those big cities that had welcomed me so warmly.The image was so vivid（生動的）and colorful in my mind.After coming back home,I sat down on my bed,and tried to write.It is a bit like painting.You have to mix the colors on your palette (調色板) until you get just the right color for the sky.In the same way,you mix and pick different words and sentences until they form the exact rhythm of the feeling you want to express.

Having to choose them carefully,you are made to evaluate them and think of why one word better suits a context than another.That precise nitpicking (挑剔) is the one that I always find useful,especially when in doubt about what exactly I am feeling.

To me,writing poetry is a process that starts with a picture,and helps me let go of feelings.It feels like when you do yoga,the instructor tells you to relax and let all the worries leave your body.

Reading Check

1.Why does the author like writing poems?

A.It replaces medicine in treating some diseases.

B.It is a way of remembering old things.

C.It offers a way to release emotions.

D.It is a necessary skill in life.

2.What is the third paragraph mainly about?

A.An example of painting an sunset image.

B.An experience of taking down a scene.

C.The advantages of writing poems.

D.The process of creating a picture.

3.What do painting and writing poems have in common according to the author?

A.They require great attention to details.

B.They have the same rhythms.

C.They arouse a feeling of happiness.

D.They help the author grow up.

4.Why does the author mention yoga in the last paragraph?

A.To show the feeling of writing poems.

B.To stress the benefit of yoga.

C.To instruct readers to do yoga.

D.To list ways to get rid of worries.

Language Study

Ⅰ.Difficult sentence

To me,writing poetry is a process that starts with a picture,and helps me let go of feelings.對我來說，寫詩是這樣一個過程：起于畫面，助我釋懷。

【點石成金】本句中的writing poetry為動名詞短語作主語，a process為表語，that引導定語從句。

Ⅱ.Useful expressions

simple rhymes 簡單的押韻

recall my hometown 回憶起我的家鄉

vivid and colorful 生動又多彩

in the same way 以相同的方式