poetry
-
Day 21: Vulture, Behind the Poem
“Vulture” is about doing the dirty work. There was a time in my life when I thought I wanted to be a funeral director. I wanted to help people through difficult times, and I did not mind the morbidity. It didn’t work out, but I took a great deal away from my time working in…
-
Day 20: Love and Light, Behind the Poem
Another detail of my life that I like to remain open about is my faith. I am a witch, though by my own definition. One of the most beautiful things about witchcraft, I think, is the freedom to define it for yourself. There is no single way to worship the world, life, the sun and…
-
Day 19: Feeding the Crows, Behind the Poem
I love crows. They are incredibly intelligent, curious animals, and I feel a certain kinship to them. Last spring, the first spring in our new house, I decided that I wanted to feed the crows and make friends with them. When befriending crows, it is not uncommon to find trinkets or even coins left in…
-
Day 18: Sliding Scale, Behind the Poem
You are enough. I can say it to you all I like and hope that you hear it and believe it because just existing is enough to be worthy, but when confronted with the same sentiment, I doubt myself. In a world where everyone is trying to be the best at something, it is difficult…
-
Day 17: Music, Behind the Poem
I love music more than most things in life. I even played clarinet for 13 years, and while I ended up being pretty good at it, I was never able to write my own music. I could only play what others had written before me. The technical side of it came easily to me, but…
-
Day 16: Hypomanic, Behind the Poem
I speak fairly openly about my Bipolar 1 diagnosis. It is, in large part, the reason my work is so inconsistent. There are times that depression takes away my will to write, and there seems to be no solution except to wait it out. Since finding an appropriate combination of medications, these episodes have evened…
-
Day 15: Hidden, Behind the Poem
A common question people ask writers is, “what inspires you?” I can’t answer for every writer, but for me, it is a resounding, “EVERYTHING.” I have been inspired by song lyrics, daydreams, phrases said in passing, facial expressions, and everything imaginable. A butterfly keeping pace with the wind, an inside joke, the unconditional love of…
-
Day 14: Deep Down, Behind the Poem
I started college in 2008, one year after Randy Pausch’s “Last Lecture.” The book version of the lecture was required reading for my first semester English course. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and there was a lot to take away from it, but the loudest lesson to me was this: “Wait long enough and people will…
-
Day 13: Forgetfulness, Behind the Poem
You may see a theme in my poems about holding onto ideas and writing them down before they’re gone. It is because forgetfulness is one of my most despised flaws. I inherited my forgetfulness from my mother, which is to say that I inherited chronic migraines from her, and either the migraines or the medications…
-
Day 12: Fantasy, Behind the Poem
As much as I love writing poetry, I have always considered myself a fantasy writer. I think it is in the functioning of my brain (and maybe my attention span), but the world I created for my characters over twenty years ago has never left me, and I know it never will. “Fantasy” is about…