Inking my Emotions

Writing has been my passion since 1995. It all began with my 8th grade English teacher wanting all her students to write something for the “Young Author’s” contest. I decided to write a poetry book full of acrostic poems because I had never heard of them before. Acrostic poems are poems in which the first letter of each line of the poem is the first letter of the title word or words. I spent the weekend thinking of words that were simple, yet could make an impact.

When I got back to English class on Monday I had my twelve words and was ready to start writing. The twelve words that I decided to turn into poems are: hate, love, coffee, winter, fall, summer, spring, birds, dragon, fun, people, and school. I titled my book “Feelings Are What We Make of Them!” My small collection of poems moved up in the “Young Author’s” contest, but my placement in the contest didn’t matter; my love for writing was born.

From those poems I went on to write free style poetry. I have tried other styles and I seem to do better when I can just let myself flow onto the page. One of the truest things I have ever heard was, “write what you know.” Well, that is what I do when it comes to my poetry. I write my emotions. Sometimes they are raw and exposed and other times you have to figure out the meaning, either way it’s me on a page.

In 1997 I was writing about six poems at a time and entering them into contests. I won several prizes; including: money, gift cards, trips, plaques, books, and awards. Yes, the money and gift cards helped but I think my awards are the best part. I won six “Editor’s Choice” awards and two “Poetic Achievement” awards that year.

Over the years I have written and published a lot of pieces. Over half a dozen of my poems call home a book. Many of the books that I am published in are in the Library of Congress. They are poetry collections, usually from all the contests of that year.

As more than just my emotions found paper I began to write a novel. Currently, I have ten chapters typed and printed. I am working on chapter eleven off and on. Recently, I have been fiddling with short stories. So far, I think they are turning out well. Maybe I will try my hand at a children’s book or series.

Like I said, I have a bunch of poems published. I have a poem published in the book “Collected Whispers.” This book is in The International Library of Poetry and was published in 2008. I would like to share four of my published poems with you. After that I have included my acrostic collection that started it all.

Best Poems of 1997, published in 1997, contains “A Perfect Gift” on page 71.

A Perfect Gift-

A priceless thing,

Sweet yet harmful,

A little thing,

Small but dangerous,

A mournful thing,

Glad though sad,

These words describe,

The perfect gift,

Love

Stars in Our Hearts- Discovery, published in 2012, contains “A Withered Garden” on page 178.

A Withered Garden-

Once she was a beautiful garden;

There was nothing but splendor that came from her flowers.

One afternoon, a weed popped up in the garden-

It seemed like an ordinary weed at first,

Then suddenly it took over,

It ruined her.

Misery engulfed the garden

And, the farmer that tended the garden could do nothing.

When he noticed how bad it was, he took the weed killer away.

The garden withered into a decayed nothing.

Silence of Yesterday, published in 1997, contains “As I Walk” on page 31.

As I Walk-

As I walk in the park,

I see a teenage girl with a baby,

It bothered me to know it was hers,

As I walk down the street,

I see a man beating his wife,

It scared me to see the truth about the world,

As I walk through the mall,

I see a man getting help-up at gunpoint,

It makes me afraid to leave my safe,

Sheltered life of being a child

A Moment to Reflect, published in 1997, contains “Paths” on page 449.

Paths-

As I walked through the forest one day,

I came across a separation in the path,

I said to the dog at my heels,

“What path shall I wander today?”

Pondering the thought of what path to walk down,

I looked at them and studied the way they looked,

The one on the left is dark and gloomy,

As to where the one on the right is light and full of life,

I chose to take the right path,

The path of goodness and love

Acrostic Collection from 8th Grade:

Hate-

Has nothing,

Anticipates loss,

Terrible attitude,

Eager to destruct

Love-

Lonely dreams,

Outrageous feeling,

Vivid memories,

Endless night

Coffee-

Caffeine,

Outrageous taste,

Fine flavor,

Fire-hot,

Energy,

Exceptional beverage

Winter-

Wet nights,

Icicles,

Night owls,

Thunder bolts,

Exceptionally cold,

Really terrifying

Fall-

Falling leaves,

Autumn colors,

Leaves changing,

Long days

Summer-

Super fun,

Ultramarine sea,

Magical moments,

Magenta sunsets,

Easy living,

Radical memories

Spring-

Sun up early,

Passion in the air,

Ripe fruit,

Incredible colors,

New plants,

Growth

Birds-

Black and white,

In flight,

Radiant color,

Dive for food,

Small and large

Dragon’s-

Dangerous,

Rageful,

Appetites – large,

Green scales,

Out at night,

Noxious,

Sinister

Fun-

Funny faces at different places,

Unnecessarily silly,

Not enough

People-

Passion to have fun,

Eager to live,

Outrageously different,

Pieces of the world,

Long living,

Everyone’s different

School-

Sometimes exciting,

Children learning,

Happy faces,

Outstanding education,

Optimistic teachers,

Lasting efforts

As you can see writing is my passion. I have been working on my craft for over twenty years and I hope to work on it for twenty more. Thank you for letting me share some of my earlier pieces with you.