Words still allure me
Back when tying my shoes warranted a pat on the back,
and I sang Scooby-Dooby Doo as Mom cooked dinner--
back when I sat on the laundry machine to hide-and-seek,
and fairytales nurtured my very being...
Words were alluring.
Words were magical and extraordinary--
like a mysterious message in a bottle.
Somebody's thoughts from a far off land,
frozen in time,
waiting to be unwrapped.
Back then, I tried for the first time to write a poem.
Mad energy spewing in all directions,
thrashing and crashing about
and words scribbled down just because they rhymed.
A beautiful struggle,
a strange satisfaction amidst the sweat,
And unabashed sharing of my messy work--
"This poem is for you, too."
Back then, I wrote fearlessly.
Simply because it was fun.
How about now?
Well, I--
I suppose I should be better by now...
Better than mad energy spewing
and crashing and thrasing about.
But it's not all that different.
I'm still just a kid
swinging my arms
spinning in a circle
when the sun warms my shoulders and
because the trees look equisite in their emerald necklaces.
I'm still just a kid
enthralled by poets
effortlessly filling the room with the smell of buttery popcorn
or thundering hooves.
And words still allure me.
That's why I write.
But something else too--
How one life touches another,
a small spark that sets off the other.
Cuz to me, a poem's not a poem
until it's found
like the notes in a bottle
reaching the shore.
And wherever you are,
reading this here:
Never forget--
Your thoughts,
your dreams,
your shouts,
your cries
mean something incredible to someone out there.
You know the lines of your favorite poetry
that you still hold close--
Vivid images and fierce convictions
that arouse you even now.
Words will be.
Words will inspire,
amaze,
and surprise.
Back then, I decided I wanted to be a part of that.
And now. Well, nothing's changed.