I’m going to apologize for the formatting up front-I have had no wifi for 2 days and my phone is iffy. This is being written on my phone.
This week was our last week of school. For those who don’t know, my day job is at an elementary school. A really big thing happened this week; my daughter’s teacher retired. This teacher is no ordinary teacher. She has had all of my children for fourth grade! She’s an amazing and kind person who cares so much about her students. One thing she has always done when a teacher retires, is she writes them a poem.
This time, I wrote one for her.
And wow, as much as my high school self might disagree, I am not a poet.
(My high school self fancied herself as a deeply profound and emotional poet. My adult self cringes a bit at the poems).
Writing this poem was so difficult, because even though I’m a writer, and even though I have quite a lot of emotion both put into my work, and in the words of my work, poetry is a different beast.
I had to not only write this for someone I know well, and about that someone, but I then had to present it in front of the faculty. wanted this poem to say what I felt, of course, but I also wanted to impress. These are people I work with, people who know I write, but may not have read my books…and I had to bare my heart in front of them.
I shook the whole time I read it.
I’m an excellent public speaker, I don’t usually have nerves, but boy oh boy, reading a heartfelt poem to someone and doing it in front of your work? Whew. It was not easy!
But one thing it did do was highlight the difference between poetry and prose, non-fiction and fiction. Around 450 words, and it was harder than any other 450 words I’ve written. Not because one is better than the other, don’t get me wrong. But writing a story is more comfortable for me, than writing a poem. Oh and it rhymed. Think of all the things that you can rhyme with heart…of course fart was the only thing I could think of! Luckily my brain kicked into high gear and I’m proud to say I used a different word ;) I’m proud of that poem.
I’m also very grateful to say that all of that emotion I wrote into a poem that I had to read to a real person, can now be directed into fictional characters, and I won’t have to read it to anyone. I think that’s the beauty of romance novels. They contain that same heartfelt and sometimes heart- wrenching emotion, just as poetry does! But the stories are not actually about any one person. And every reader can make it their own. The emotion I pour into my books allows the reader to have that connection with the characters (and not with the author! Lol).
So what do you think?
Do you write poetry? Read it? Only love the naughty limericks;) let me know! But also let me know if a poem has ever touched your heart.
In my new book Dangerous Past, Lark uses a bullet journal. And in her journal are lists, comments, and even...short poems.
She’s running from her past…
Lark Seawell is the daughter of a serial killer. His reputation has long been a shadow looming over her since his arrest when she was a child. Especially since she’s the one who called the police. She has spent her entire life trying to live as anonymously and quietly as possible. She is not her father’s legacy.
He wants to be her future...
FBI agent Jay Sutherland is visiting a friend in a small mountain town when free spirit Lark asks for help with her injured dog. He is instantly enamored with her, and their one night stand stays with him far into the next morning, though Lark is long gone. When his partner realizes that she is the daughter of The Highwayman, Jay refuses to believe Lark is anything like her father.
What happens when she stops running…
When a trail of dead bodies follows Lark on her cross-country drive, the FBI believes she’s the killer. How can the sweet woman who rescues injured animals and makes him feel things he hasn’t felt in years be a murderer? The bodies don’t lie. Jay knows there’s more at play. If he’s wrong, and Lark is as much a monster as her father, he may be the next target…
Sunshiney heroine, gruff hero, one night stand leads to more…
I like poetry, and modern poets like the fabulous Amanda Gorman have given me a new appreciation of it. However, the few I've attempted on my own have been...awful. I'm sure yours was a wonderful gift to the person it was for and about. You have my admiration for writing a whole post on the phone!!
ReplyDeleteI never did rhyming poetry when I was younger and really into writing it, so doing that this week was harder than I'd imagined lol I
DeleteI never attempted it although I once wrote a rap song with my daughter for her 5th grade talent show and it rhymed. I was given a personalized poem once when I left a job- and they framed it on fancy paper- nearly 30 years later, it is still special.
ReplyDeleteThat's lovely. I truly hope she loved what I wrote for her and it's as special to her as yours is.
DeleteI am so impressed that you can post from your phone! I have trouble commenting from mine, and often fail. Good for you!
ReplyDeleteI used to write poetry when I was in high school, and even won some awards. Now I write lyrics for my rock star heroes. You're right, it can be challenging! Good for you for pushing yourself outside your comfort zone for someone you obviously care a lot for. :)
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