November 2026 | Poetry of Homelands and Hope | Merna Ann Hecht

Poetry of Homelands and Hope: Uplifting Refugee and Immigrant Voices toward Creating Communities of Welcome and Belonging

Part of the Poetic Medicine Summit 2026 year-long series

The Expressive Art of Poetry

Saturday, November 7, 2026

10:00 - 11:30 am Pacific Time

Register for this event here: https://givebutter.com/Summit2026Nov7

*Registration is NOT required for those who purchased a Summit Full Year Ticket.

Registration for the full series of events, including recordings of all previous sessions is here: https://givebutter.com/Summit2026April

Merna will facilitate a hybrid workshop with an overview talk including sharing poems written by refugees and immigrants as well as time for participants to write from several prompts.

Prior to the workshop you will receive a packet of poems and other material that speak to forced migration, both the anguish and trauma of leaving a homeland and the resilience, strength and deep humanity that issues from the voices and poetic and artistic expressions of refugee and immigrants. The workshop will include a brief overview of current U.S. immigration, border and refugee resettlement policies along with poems and prompts that invite you to explore your own sense of home and your reflections as to what might shape and deepen collective compassion and welcome for newcomers.

Remembering My Best Friend 

I remember my friend, Shabnam, my best friend 

My friend who rises like a sun 

My friend who turns boring lessons into fun 

My friend who made me live every moment of my life. 

My friend who led me to the beautiful truth

A truth that makes me love the world and myself

My friend who flies me through the purple skies of friendship

My friend that I never wanted to say goodbye to 

My friend that I never wanted to lose.  

But, I lost my friend between strangers 

I lost my friend between wars

I lost my friend between the sound of bombs and hopelessness  

I lost my friend between rules and traditions. 

My friend, I miss her more than before 

My friend, my eyes are looking for her more than before 

My friend, my tears are looking for her more than before 

My friend, my heart is saying “PLEASE COME BACK” more than before My friend, I never wanted to say goodbye to 

My friend, I never wanted to lose.

-by Ada, from Afghanistan, high school student, Stories of Arrival Refugee & Immigrant Poetry Project

Merna Ann Hecht

Merna is a poet, teaching artist, and nationally known storyteller. Her writing, activism and teaching are guided by honoring diverse voices through poetry, story and visual art.

She is a longtime Poetry Partner with The Institute of Poetic Medicine (IPM). With IPM support she founded and co-directed the Stories of Arrival: Refugee and Immigrant Youth Voices Poetry project at Foster High School in Tukwila, WA. Foster is one of the most language and culturally diverse high schools in the U.S. where Merna has worked with over three hundred young people form forty one countries. 

Her poetry work with refugees and immigrants continues under the name WORD TRAVELS: Bringing Refugee & Immigrant Voices to the Community. Additional to a Master’s degree from the University of WA, Merna has training in Theater in Education, Drama Therapy and Expressive Arts. She is a board member for Wide-World for Refugees and holds a certificate from the Global Mental Health: Trauma & Recovery Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma.

Poetic Medicine Summit 2026

Learn more about the full series of Summit 2026 events here: https://www.poeticmedicine.org/summit2026

We would love to have you be in the circle with us. Come on your own or bring a friend!

Sponsorship opportunities are available too!

We hope that you will be able to join us for one or more of these upcoming events!