Date

1-14-2026

Department

College of Arts and Sciences

Degree

Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (MFA)

Chair

James Latta

Keywords

Grief, Poetry, Biblical poetry, Meditational Poetry, Spirituality, Drug Addiction, Support System, Healing, Processing Grief, Trauma

Disciplines

Creative Writing

Abstract

This research analyzes McClocklin and Lengelle's 'Cures for the Heart': A Poetic Approach to Healing After Loss." It finds that poetry therapy may offer a healthy outlet for processing grief. Further research supports the therapeutic benefits in writing and reading poetry as a way to cope, find meaning, and make sense of it all, after the loss occurs. My thesis is a collection of 49 poems, in which I chronicle the life of my adult son, Justin, who struggled with an opioid addiction and passed away due to an overdose in the Spring of 2025. My work was inspired by both biblical and meditational poetry, as well as my own personal trauma and grief, and how I processed that pain. There are 3 chapters in my thesis which create a poetic memoir. These are, "Life," in which I have written about the joys of motherhood, and then the feelings of helplessness I experienced while not being able to help my son overcome his drug addiction. The chapter, "Death," reveals my pain and heartache I went through after the loss. The last chapter, "The Aftermath," contains poems about how I processed my grief through the art of writing poetry and finally began to heal. My poetry is written almost entirely in a first-person narrative using various styles (e.g., freeform, prose ...) I hope that this thesis may provide understanding that poetic expression may be therapeutic, but I also hope that it may provide comfort and healing to others, too, who may be experiencing grief.

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