Poetry as fun therapy

Verses spoke of God, of seasons and of loneliness, as a group of distinctive poets read their work in a West Raleigh coffeehouse last week.

The event followed months of meeting and planning by the poets, all clients of a day program for psycho-social rehabilitation at a nearby nonprofit.

The agency, Fellowship Health Resources on Blue Ridge Road, supports getting the clients and their poetry out into the community, in this case Loco Lou's coffeehouse off Glenwood Avenue.

"Most of the poems I write are epic, but these are regular poems," group member Jefferson Simmons said before reading two of his works last Wednesday.

Eight people from the poetry club at Fellowship Health Resources read to an audience consisting of patrons of the shop, supporters from the center and each other.

"We just have a lot of people who are very talented; they love to write and draw," said Gabrielle Haynes, a case manager at the center and coordinator of the poetry club. "We try to get them to express themselves through their writing."

Part of a Rhode Island-based company, Fellowship Health Resources offers a range of resources for people with mental disabilities, said Dana Jackson Barnes, program manager for psychosocial rehabilitation.

"When they are in a day program such as this, we help them maintain stability," Barnes said. "We provide activities for them to participate in and a social network for them to feel they are a part of."

As in the cases of painters such as Van Gogh and poets like Keats, mental illness has a centuries-old connection with creativity. The poets who read at the coffeehouse last week might not have been writing for the ages, but they and their audience found enjoyment in sharing thoughts in literary form.

"It's a time to read my self-expressive works and to listen to other poems," Simmons said.

The poets took on religious devotion and holidays such as Thanksgiving and Halloween, as well as difficult topics such as continuing to grow as people.

"Twirling, twirling -- my will is strong, but how can it be stronger?" Terri Miller read.

Mae Sullivan, a leader of the group, wrote that she lives "each day with expectancy and surprise."

And Bunnie Sanford wrote of her love for her two dogs, one an alpha dog and one a meeker sort. The poem ended sadly: "I'd give the world to see them again."

Lou Cerny, who named his place Loco Lou's after his children's nickname for him, welcomed the poets to his place and hopes to have them back. He traced his interest in people with mental illness to his childhood in Collingswood, N.J.

"We had a young boy in our school who had mental illness," Cerny said. "He did everything he could to be accepted, but unfortunately, kids can be cruel."

The coffeehouse in the Oak Park Shopping Center shows off talent from photography to polka bands, from typical people and from those with disabilities.

For Cerny, it's all about community and interaction.

"Just because you're not a perfect person, that doesn't mean you're not a good person," he said.