POETRY PRESCRIPTION

A diverse compilation of poems to uplift and comfort the soul, selected by Alma, the founder of the British bookshop Poetry Pharmacy.

This volume includes poems sorted into five sections, with titles such as “grace,” “time and light are kinds of love,” and “everything to look forward to,” that provide metaphorical bandages, tonics, stimulants, or whatever best treats readers’ emotional wounds. The entries include widely recognized older classics, such as John Donne’s “No Man Is an Island” and William Wordsworth’s “Daffodils,” alongside accessible modern works, like Ellen Bass’ “The Thing Is,” which invites readers “to love life, to love it even / when you have no stomach for it.” The volume takes readers on an emotional journey: John O’Donohue’s “This Is the Time To Be Slow” (“This is the time to be slow, / Lie low to the wall / Until the bitter weather passes”) contrasts with Naomi Shihab Nye’s “So Much Happiness” (“…happiness floats. / It doesn’t need you to hold it down. / It doesn’t need anything”). Many entries explore complex or darker moments. The poems appear without biographical information, original publication dates, or other context. Each section opens with a brief explanatory statement from the editor: “I prescribe these poems to act as inducements to action and change, with confidence and optimism.” Together these poems create an emotional reading experience, like receiving a healing hug.

This warm, comforting poetry collection is just what the doctor ordered.