Looking Glass To The Past

Reminded several weeks ago about my old poetry books by Jenny Hansen when she talked about poetry being her coping tool, I dragged them out. I remember never going anywhere without a pretty journal book so that I could write down whatever poem popped into my head. Looking back on those poems was like going through a time machine. Sometimes funny…especially looking back on how far I’ve come, sometimes painful. Then again, teenage years are an angsty time.

I thought I’d share a bit of the funny along with the angst today.

Melt Down Written 2/12/91

You took an iron chain
And linked it through my heart.
I couldn’t pull away
Or my life would fall apart.
But my tears were like acid
And you caused them to fall
So by your own mistakes,
I gained my freedom afterall.

Shot Written 4/14/91

She loaded the gun,
checked the back,
then took aim.
I heard the trigger
as it clicked.
I closed my eyes
then felt the metal
as it seared
through my flesh,
causing it to throb
like my heart.
Then she held
a mirror to my face.
“How’s that?”
she asked
as I quietly examined
My newly pierced ears.

The Storm written 7/24/91

Inside a great darkness
that only knows pain,
the sound of the thunder
the feel of the rain
A small fleck of sunlight
has broke through the wall
an alien object
in a stormy night fall.

The darkness is constant
while the light is so new.
The white is not trusted
in a world of dark blue.
The pain is too common
to accept the sun.
The closer it gets,
the harder I run.

Yeah…there’s something beautiful about youth…and looking back. Seeing how far you’ve come. What about you? What were you like when you were younger? What was your escape? What brings back those memories? Those nostalgic smiles?

Here’s a little secret. As much as I wrote…and I did lots of that… My escape came through music. All kinds of music. It still does. Like I told Jenny…it’s my coping mechanism.

I also want to share some people who’ve really wowed me with their poetry lately… I encourage you to just take a peek at their work. It’s amazing!

Renee Jacobson wrote an amazing piece on Learning Shame. Karen Robiscoe writes on Talking Shop that completely wowed me. Clark Kent 07 proves exactly why he’s a Superman in the advice he gives on how to treat a woman. Maybe Hasty Words and how she gets from A To Zero will impress you the way it did me. Personally, I found V’s poem, Flare, to be quite a great reminder that there’s perfection to be found in imperfection.

Every day I find something new and different that excites me! What treasures have you found? Share!