Five-minute poetry

ARIELLE TCHIPROUT, FEATURES WRITER

When I was in secondary school, poetry – which was once fun and imaginative – became intellectual and stressful. But after attending a poetry-therapy workshop a few months ago, I’ve rediscovered the joy of writing verse. During the session, the teacher, Victoria Field, gave us five minutes to put pen to paper and write whatever came to mind. The aim was not to write a publishable piece of art – it didn’t need to rhyme, or even flow beautifully. The purpose, she said, was to free your mind and see what you can learn about yourself in the process. I enjoyed it so much that I’ve made this a daily ritual. As soon as I finish work for the day, I set a timer for five minutes and scribble down a poem. I’ve written poems about everything from family members to a new pair of fluffy socks, from my career goals to the US election. They’re not technically brilliant, but it doesn’t matter. I do it to carve out time to reflect, to switch off from my daily stresses and let my creativity run wild. thepoetrypractice.co.uk