Poetry in Emotion

A retired caseworker helps troubled women express themselves through haiku.

by Natalie Hope McDonald

Michael T. Regan PLEASED TO METER: Linda Marucci got the residents at the Women of Hope group home interested in haiku. (CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER VERSION)

Linda Marucci retired after 36 years as a welfare worker in Philadelphia. Her office in the career and development unit on Broad and Bainbridge was a second home to the 61-year-old. But like many 9-to-5ers faced with the prospect of much quieter days (she's since been hired as a social worker in Southwest Philly), Marucci considered donating her new free time to a local charity. She began volunteering at Women of Hope, a group home at 12th and Lombard for displaced women with mental and emotional disorders.

"I volunteered doing grocery shopping at first," says Marucci. Later she offered to start a poetry-writing session. "I thought it was something that was different, that the women could really get involved in," says Susan Stier, Women of Hope's executive director. "It takes some of the ladies encouragement to do these things." But Marucci was already building relationships with many of the 24 female residents who live together in dorm-style housing six to a room.

"Most of these women don't have families and they don't have connections," says Stier. "We're family to them." She says all of them are coping with some form of mental illness that may have made it difficult for them to share their feelings with each other. "It's a challenge for them to live in the community. It's a challenge to be motivated," says Stier. She admits that some of the women may be fearful of even leaving the home, so they create activities inside, like pet therapy, arts and crafts and haiku. The end goal, says the director, is transition. For many, the process is difficult.

"When you first see them, you see these quiet, drawn faces," says Marucci. "They're depressed when there's nothing to focus on outside of themselves." She says by exploring haiku, these women learn how to not only observe the world, but also document it. It wasn't easy convincing many of them to participate in the new program. Only six of the residents agreed to meet with Marucci on Fridays in the common room, where they gather on lounge chairs and a sofa while others watch TV nearby.

"At first, they looked at me like I was out of my mind," says Marucci. "I started talking to them about keeping a journal and writing about their feelings." Most of the women at the home, says Stier, have never written poetry before. But by exploring haiku, Marucci says the women began sharing feelings with each other, like this whimsical poem by Marlene, one of the residents who ended up being published in the group home's first-ever chapbook:

Floppy-eared dog

Falls at our feet

Spring has come.

The very limited-edition chapbook features 30 of the first-time writers' haikus (not always adhering to the form's traditional syllabic structure), arranged according to the four seasons and a free form section. Marucci created the books with the help of Taws, the art supplies store on Walnut Street, where each poem was printed onto Japanese-style paper and professionally bound. The women, who call themselves the "Golden Girls," each received copies of the book featuring their work, like this haiku by Phyllis:

Mother embracing

Her daughter in prison

Egyptian moon.

"Some poems are too intellectual and too abstract, but haiku is about getting the focus off of yourself for a while," says Marucci. In some cases, the exercise became more about expressing their own feelings, like in this haiku by Mary Ann:

As the leaves fall

I feel safe

Behind the door.

Marucci asked the women to observe an object and describe how it makes them feel. Each of the women then placed the experience within a seasonal context using only three lines. It was the first time they tackled a writing project with such honesty about their own feelings. Based on Marucci's experiences as a social worker for more than three decades, she was confident the exercise would strengthen the participant's intellectual abilities. Having the chapbook is a reminder of their accomplishments.

Stier says four of the six women who were published in the book have since moved into independent living facilities this year. She says it's a testament to what they're each capable of doing in their lives. "It opens them up to one another. It's a bonding experience," says Stier. "They're tapping into things that they may have never thought of before. "

One of the residents, Marlene, told Marucci how much of a difference the experience made to her. "I was really touched," Marucci says. "Marlene said that this is something people would understand, that its shows even people with mental disabilities can do something."

Marlene wrote this haiku:

Linda, our teacher,

Shining bright

Summer's rose.

(n_mcdonald@citypaper.net)