Alecia Gordon, an undecided sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, reads a letter addressed to God, filled with the anguish that comes with knowing you’ve disappointed. By the end, tears stream down her face. She lets out a small laugh, embarrassed by her moment of weakness and vulnerability. As Gordon walks back to her seat, Hawkins, her roommate, turns to give her a hug. The poet to Gordon’s right, Janel Sullivan, turns and says under her breath, “I’d want to hear it again, if you can type it up and send it to me. That was really beautiful.” Gordon still can’t shake the embarrassment. “I’m so sorry, that wasn’t supposed to happen,” she says. “I hate when that happens!”
“Can I say this one more time?” Bolton says in a stern voice. “Stop apologizing for what you do. It was meant to be.”
Gordon cried the first time she attended a Verbal Blend meeting, too. The power of the other poets’ words affected her in such a way she decided to keep coming back. Bolton credits poetry with having a therapeutic quality that many students on campus may need. “If they need to cry, they can cry and get it out through that poem," he says. "[The poem] will help to heal them."
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