Poetic Shutterbug

This is a guest post by Joseph Farley. Thanks, Joe. Fire The heat of our passion ignited the pillow case. The fire spread to the sheets and leapt to the curtains, crawled over rugs; gasping in the smoke we hardly noticed the holocaust around us as flesh boiled from rib cage and bone turned to ash.

Me with my poet pose :) The Poet In Me I’ve been known to be inspirations flowing through my veins energy of the muse. The word interpreter , I breathe metaphors and paint pictures with lyrical destinations on blank maps. The voracious reader , I’ve heard my voice astounding thunderclaps in rudimentary dreamscapes and rebellious realism. The doubtful visionary , I’ve spoken silent affirmations in unknown languages understanding the future. The anti critic , I’ve sold not my soul for a good review accepting the bad as the challenge it is. The poetic archivist , I’ve known what was read to be reiterated in past anthologies. The unknown author , I speak through my words which speak for themselves and resound in you while residing in me. The validated versifier , I proclaim the passionate poetess in me speechless!

This is a guest post by Cheryl Oertli . I want to thank her for her friendship and beautiful poetry. Crystal Visions Words come in crystal visions, Images painted as if canvas creations, Prisms of an inner mind, Multicolored majesty. Rhythmic repetitions, melodic and grand. Each thought, each image developed, Lovingly cared for, painstakingly planned. Words bring forth emotions, A collage of emotions recorded In quatrains and lyrical verse; Touching the heart and mind, As a soothing balm for the soul.

I have come across so many poets who tell me that they have hundreds of poems that they have written yet have never done anything with them. The poems are kept in boxes or folders and left there never to be born much like a bird in a cage never to be set free. The comments I hear are “they are just too personal for me” or “No one would understand them.” Let’s take a look at each argument. They are just too personal. As writers everything we write has a personal element to it and as poets we express our deepest thoughts and feelings by writing these personal words. I’m not saying you have to dust off those poems and start submitting them for publication but to leave them grow old and unseen to me is a grave mistake. What you have to realize is that because they are so personal and drawn from life experience, by showing them to the world you may just help someone else. The second argument “No one will understand them." Understanding poetry has nothing to do with trying to ...