Blog Post 10
The time has finally come-- the last (official) blog post of my last semester at Appalachian State University. While writing blog post for assignments is sometimes an unwanted task, I found myself enjoying creating blog posts this semester. This semester was filled with much self-reflection that I will continue to take part in after the semester ends. For me, the reason this semester’s blog posts were so enjoyable was that they focused on poetry. Poetry has always had a place in my heart because, as I mentioned in past blog posts, the form of poetry symbolizes how my brain works. Now, I know what you’re thinking-- what?! Like I’ve previously explained, I’ve never been able to form complete thoughts while telling stories, maybe it’s from my undiagnosed ADHD or maybe it’s because I just get really flustered; regardless, poetry is me. I am poetry.
I wonder if authors who write in other forms feel the same way. Is that what makes an author a good writer? Do they personally connect with more than just the words on the page? If I had to take a guess, I would say yes.
I am sure Kwame Alexandar feels this way when he writes his poetry. Kwame has been a big influence in my writing throughout this semester, especially his free-verse poetry. The Crossover by Kwame Alexander truly opened my eyes to poetry and its possibilities. Before I was exposed to his writing, I found poetry to be stagnant, never-changing. As someone who sees the beauty in poetry now, I can see how wrong I was. Just like typical prose, you just have to find the genre or topic that appeals to your personal interests. The Crossover was centered around two brothers and basketball; this does not appeal to my personal interests. However, Kwame has attracted me with his style of writing not necessarily the context of his writing.
This poem I wrote for the love of my life was inspired by Kwame’s style of poetry. I may have shared this in a previous blog post, but I wanted to reiterate how inspired he made me. I actually have read my poetry aloud to my significant other and it was the scariest thing I’ve ever done. I think it’s because it was a glimpse into my soul (dramatic). Reading poetry aloud is scarier than telling someone you love them-- for me anyway. I think it’s because
I love you’ has because such an everyday part of life; the word is overused and misused. So, opening your heart to someone in a way that makes you vulnerable is scary… and that’s how poetry makes me feel.
I think I’m going to dedicate my last blog post of this semester to the people that I love. I am going to write some poems for a few people that have an especially place in my heart.
While reading through this week’s resources to guide my writer’s pen, I stumbled across an acrostic poem in Thanku, Poems of Gratitude by Miranda Paul and illustrated by Marlena Myles. The poem is titled Dimples and it details the beautiful dimples of a young girl that “mirror to the brightness in [her] soul.” Acrostic poems typically “In an acrostic, the first or last letters of a line spell out a word or phrase-- this is what inspired my poetry for the one I love. I titled it ‘Lips’ and it is dedicated to his loving touch. I made sure to incorporate the spelling of the word ‘LIPS’ into the first letter of my poem. I found it easiest to write the letters first, then begin to craft the rest of my thoughts. The topic of ‘lips’ is difficult to put into words because, like the eyes, they are windows into the soul, in my opinion. However, I wanted to capture how I feel when my significant other kisses the tips of my fingers; a small but loving gesture.
Most of my poems are deep, as you can tell from my previous poem. It is difficult for me to write about everyday objects and/or things that are insignificant in my life--that is why I always write about love or my cat. However, I think that writing about both things will help me grow as a writer. Even if it is a challenge, I need to always continue to expand my repertoire of writing strategies. My next poem is inspired by the concept of Mentor Texts (Dorfman & Capelli). Using mentor texts throughout this semester has helped me grow tremendously as a writer of poetry. I am going to use the concept of mentor texts to craft my second poem dedicated to my sister.
I wanted to create a visual overlay to depict my poetry.... enjoy :) I used Zinnias (pg. 5) by Valerie Worth in all the small poems and fourteen more.
This poem is very close to my heart, so I don't want to dive deep into this poem. However, I want you to read it and feel how much I love my sister.
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