When I Think of Poetry...

~I wrote this as an entry for a publishing company a while back...after reading it...I wanted to share it.~

            When I think of poetry, I think of youth. Poetry and I grew up together. Poetry has been my best friend and family. We traveled places together in and outside of my mind. When distress became a part of my daily routine, poetry was indeed my ace. If poetry and I went to school together, she'd be that friend that stuck up for me when I was bullied...when no one wanted to pick me for games, she'd choose me first.  We stayed up late nights shooting the breeze holding in giggles and swapping secrets. I told her of my crushes, heartbreaks, dreams and worries...while she told me of how special she thought I was. She wanted me to know that I always had her to rely on. She didn't judge me, use and abuse me, disrespect me, throw me away, or take away the gifts she'd given. No, poetry was a giver and still is. 
            My idea of poetry has always been more about the esoteric. The quintessential element of things. The ability to capture the emotion of a moment. The beauty. The ugliness. The betrayal. The joy. The light. When I write, I see the words in movement. In my imagination, as I write...the words play out in my mind's eye like a motion picture. I see the laughter, the tears, the hurt, the love, the beauty, the fear...all in my mind and heart as if I’m translating a true moment in time, taking place right then and there.
           Poetry to me isn't just about rhyming or trying to create a picture as much as it is about me trying to capture the moment. Inspiration striking in bolts, dispensing sight and vision beheld in words and hidden meanings. Creating a piece of work that draws awe and sparks creative thoughts in the reader. To evoke emotions is what I like to do best. I love that my poetry has garnered positive nods of, "I've been through that" and "This spoke to me" because it allows me the chance to feel and believe that the emotions and state of mind I wrote the poem in...was translated in reading.
           I love words to the core. I used to read the dictionary and still sometimes find myself thumbing through one to reacquaint my mind with words I haven’t used in a while or never heard of at all. Poetry gives me a chance to take those words and string them into an expressionistic play on thought.  I'm allowing room for interpretation and depth...yet relatable and understandable to someone who may not be versed in grammar and vocabulary. I like to make the body of poetry so much more than the words used individually to bring it together.  My words, used to stroke hearts tenderly and minds thoughtfully.
           My ultimate vision is for poetry to become less of a "dreamer's art" and more of a teacher, nurturer, lover, mentor, a bonder of people. I’d like to create a forum where like souls can feel related to and understood. To take the stigma away from poetry as something only lonely and brokenhearted people do. I have serious poems, light ones, sad ones, happy ones, erotic ones, playful ones. Some are spiritual and some border on profane.  We are multi-faceted as people and playing to one side is cheating the world of a full personality. I want people to see the genius in me, the silly girl, the intelligent sister, the saddened lover, the innocent-eyed child, and the scorned woman I can be.  My hope is to impact and impress...soulfully and deeply. I want to use one of the oldest forms of writing to embark on a new way of expression.  I want to give my heart a voice.