Poetry
July 2022 – Present
Background
Writing poetry started when, unexpectedly, a friend sent a poem to me for peer review. Before that, I hadn’t even considered expression through writing. Almost immediately, I fell in love with how my friend’s poem conveyed an idea, and I wanted to try it too. I started off with short simple “poems” that rhymed because I used to think “poetry” was just about rhymes.
Over time, I started experimenting with symbolism, figurative language, and imagery, as well as meter, alliteration, and repetition. The themes also evolved to cover deeper emotions and shared experiences, such as the inner critic and the loss of child wonder. I started reading poetry like Naomi Shihab’s So Much Happiness and Emily Dickinson’s Hope is a Thing With Feathers for the complexity and layers of descriptive language. I also appreciated the poetry as a creative way to share thoughts and experiences.
Growth
Impact
Over the last three years, I’ve come to realize that my best work happens when I let the ideas flow because I have a message or story I want to share. Once, I sent out a thanksgiving ode to the people in my life. Little did I know that I had the wrong number for someone, which meant that I sent it to an entire stranger. To my surprise, the answer I received profoundly affected my perception and goal of my poetry. The stranger replied, "I'm sure you have the wrong number, but this was beautiful and I really needed it." This single sentence completely up-ended what I thought about poetry.
To me, poetry isn't just about processing feelings or experiences anymore, but it's become a tool for connection and impact. If one stranger could be so positively influenced by my poetry, what about an audience of strangers? Lately, as I've been writing poems, I've been thinking about my purpose for poetry. Writing poetry is no longer "just" fun; it's a way to connect with others, shape meaning, and give voice to things that are hard to say outright.