The act of writing is a way of life. Just as I brew a pot of coffee each morning while the sun rises, I use words to preserve the cascade of emotions I feel before I lay my head on my pillow each night. Poetry is like breath of fresh air, a way to collect my feelings, vibrant leaves on the branches of my life, a form of self-expression. Arranging words, line after line, allows me to gather my thoughts and piece them together like a puzzle.
I have been writing since I was a child and developed a passion for rhyming. I would start with a blank sheet of paper and write the alphabet across the top of the crisp white page. I’d let the first line flow off the top of my head and then go through each letter to find a rhyming word to end the next line with. I’d write poems for my friends, poems for school, and poems for my eyes only, that I kept in a blue spiral bound book kept hidden under my mattress.
When life twists, I turn to writing as a way to sort through my feelings. Acknowledge them and then find a way to move on. Words have always been a friend to me, helping me work through my worries and problems. One week before this semester began, the 6-year relationship I had been in ended suddenly. Many changes have occurred in my life since that time and these poems document my journey. Some days were better than others and I believe the series of poems in this collection reflect the ebb and flow of emotions I have experienced.
Words have shaped my life, whether they came from my own thoughts or the mouths of others, written or typed, whispered or sung. Actions may speak louder than words, but written words have touched my soul.
So here I am, using my words to express, to share with anyone willing to read, to clarify, to release, to love and be loved. Poetry, like life, can be unexpected. Sometimes it is not clear, but if you look again, you will find meaning written between the lines.
