 Poetry: January 01, 2025 Issue [#12915] |
This week: Elegy: Reflecting on Loss and Renewal Edited by: Jayne  
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| Hello, I'm Jayne! Welcome to my poetic explorations. My goal with these newsletters is to take us on a journey through the forms, devices, and concepts that make poetry so powerful. Sometimes, a series of newsletters will interconnect, while other issues will stand alone. I strive to ensure they are informative but fun and do my best to spark your curiosity. Don’t forget to check out this issue's curated selection of poetry! |
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Let’s be real for a minute: the refresh of a new year isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be. Sure, there are plenty of helpful tips on fresh starts, resolutions, and bold ambitions. But for many of us, new beginnings are met with echoes of what’s been left behind. We lose people. We leave places or realize there are places we’ll never get to see. Fleeting moments flicker in the never-ending film our brains play. Bad moments burn the edges, and many of us fear the good ones are starting to fade.
It's even possible we’ve lost a version of ourselves—either the one we knew or the one we thought we’d become.
If this sounds like you (or even if it doesn’t, but you still have things to reflect upon), take a deep breath, grab a warm beverage, and explore the elegy: a poetic form that honors loss while nudging us toward renewal.
Elegy Basics
An elegy is a lyrical reflection on loss—whether of a loved one, a phase of life, or even an idea. Elegies are best known as lamentations for the dead, but that’s not always the case anymore. Modern poets have expanded the form to encompass broader themes of grief and change.
Elegies typically have three stages:
 Lamentation: Expressing grief and sorrow.
Celebration: Honouring the subject, person, or memory.
Consolation: Finding resolution, renewal, or a sense of peace. Elegies can help find a resolution that untethers you from something holding you in the past or preventing you from moving forward.
Do all elegies have pleasant resolutions? No, they do not. If you’re struggling with memories, David Romano’s “When Tomorrow Starts With Me” finds solace in grief. In contrast, in W. H. Auden’s “Funeral Blues,” the lamentation is heart-wrenching and full of sorrow, with lines like, “Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,” and struggles with coming to an actionable resolution, making it harder to see a way forward. However, such an outpouring of grief is cathartic enough for some people, and they can begin to see the future differently.
Yes, Let's Start the Year Off with Misery, Jay
I understand your hesitation. But hear me out: writing an elegy allows us to pause and acknowledge what has changed and shaped us in the previous year. It is both an act of mourning and transformation: a way to carry forward what matters while making space for new growth.
Elegies are deeply personal and flexible. They can follow a traditional form but also work with free verse. Focus on your emotions rather than the rules, and use vivid imagery to bring your feelings to the page. Instead of “I miss my cat,” describe the way you laughed when you discovered they had a penchant for potato chips, the softness of their meow, or how warm their fur got when they lay in a sun puddle.
Like any other piece of writing, the most important thing is to get words on the page—don’t self-censor or edit while writing your first draft. You can always revisit it later to clean up your copy or tuck it away as is, knowing it has done its job.
Writing in the Shadow of Loss
Writing an elegy at the start of the year isn’t about dwelling in sadness—it’s about honoring the fullness of life, including its impermanence. By giving space to what’s been lost, we create room for what’s to come. Here’s a basic blueprint for you:
Lamentation: This is often the more straightforward part for writers. What has caused your pain and why? How has it affected
you in your daily goings-on? How has it changed you?
Celebration: What did it give you? What praise or admiration can you find? It’s okay if your thoughts aren’t necessarily positive
at the outset. Positivity is relative, and this isn’t an exercise in toxic positivity. It can be as simple as a learning experience,
gratefulness for a moment you experience, or knowing someone is at peace. It can certainly be more profound than that, but start
with where you are and see what develops.
Consolation: How can you carry its essence with you while you move on? It doesn’t have to be a giant leap forward—small
steps in the right direction matter, and all roads lead somewhere.
More Examples to Inspire You
John Milton’s "Lycidas" is a classic pastoral elegy reflecting death and artistic legacy.
Mary Oliver’s "In Blackwater Woods" mediates grief and letting go.
Ocean Vuong’s "Someday I’ll Love Ocean Vuong” (audio file) is an elegy to the self, full of raw honesty.
Walt Whitman’s “O Captain! My Captain” fits the elegy bill, and although it seems to lack a resolution, a closer look shows us
things can move forward: “The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done.”
I’ll be writing an elegy to a version of myself I’m ready to leave behind: the one who overthinks every little thing (like whether or not a newsletter about grief was an appropriate start to the new year  ). What about you? Whatever your decision, I hope this year’s writing carries you into newfound inspiration and growth.
Terminology Used In This Newsletter
Elegy: A poetic form that reflects on loss and moves through stages of lamentation, celebration, and consolation.
Imagery: Descriptive language that appeals to the senses.
Free Verse: Poetry without a fixed meter or rhyme scheme.
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