2 Poetic Journey

Plastic Sleeve of Words
(image by rmp, that's me)

i remember a small grey notebook of sorts.  it contained four or five original drawings (i use that term loosely 'cause i'm not much of a drawer) at the top of grey paper accompanied by a poem beneath.  i'm not sure whatever happened to those first non-school-inspired creations.  the notebook disappeared long ago.  that was probably during my upper elementary or early middle school years.

Self-Published -- Print Run of One
(image by rmp, that's me)

my next memories take me to high school.  that's when i started keeping a better hold on my poetic endeavors.  (i still have them tucked away in a plastic sleeve protector--some handwritten originals--some typed originals.)  i wrote a total of three poems my freshman year; ten my sophomore year; eighteen my junior year; and nineteen my senior year.  i immortalized the final pieces first in a notebook that i kept with me at all times throughout high school.  then, eventually i typed up a copy that i entitled 'The Mind'.  (i remember typing it up on my brother's mac, which seems kind of funny to me now since he is completely a windows guy now.)  when the time came to edit 'The Mind' and the original disk wouldn't open on a windows computer, so i found myself retyping it and retitling it 'The Works'.  [this journey may take awhile...feel free to skip to the bottom and check out the three poems that started it all.]

Mind, Body, & Soul
(image by rmp, that's me)

i continued to write in college.  by the end of freshman year, i found a new way of sharing my works.  i'd pass the time between classes by sneaking into the computer lab and sending out a mass email to a group i dubbed 'Poetry List'.  (this would be before blogs.)  the first one i sent out, the one that started the mass email altogether was 'Thoughts'.  i remember one of my friends emailing me back all concerned because he feared i was depressed.  not that he was wrong (been suffering from depression for as long as i can remember)...not that i blame him (the poem did portray an image of drowning with a great struggle to break through the surface)...but the poem truly was about its title; it describe the feeling of being bombarded with thoughts and ideas that refused to form of semblance, but eventually they collide and you break through the murky water of  thoughts to a breath-taking idea.  as college came and went, i revisited my collection once again; after writing 'The Mind' and then 'The Works' (which i perceived to be 'The Body'), i revamped once again and create a collection that retains its name and continues to grow, 'The Soul'.

Cover Art
(image by rmp, that's me)

with college over and my 'adult' life beginning, i continued to write, but in more sporadic bursts.  it was at this stage in my life that i began to put things together with purpose and expand my writing.  having never had any patience for writing stories longer than ten pages or so, i took an idea i thought might make a good script (didn't know the first thing about writing a script) and entertained the idea of writing a novel for a sliver of a moment.  in the end, i decided to stick with what i knew best and wrote my first (and only) chapbook of poetry called 'Three Hearts Betrayed'.  strangely enough, just about six months later i began writing my first novel (though it might classified more as a novelette), while also writing a book-length collection of poems.  it took me longer to write the collection, 'Teacher's Insomnia' than the book, 'Herstory: man's plight for equality'.  since i've written another novel, 'Call Alex' (originally entitled 'Supermarket Jezebel'), and a book-length collection of poems, 'Me--Naked to the Core'.  [note, i write to purge, for pleasure, and for a sense of accomplishment...so no nothing is publish...nor have i tried.]

Poetry with Purpose
(image by rmp, that's me)

More Words Than I Could Contain
(image by rmp, that's me)

a couple of years ago, when going back to school for my masters, i was introduced more formally to blogging.  i tried to reinvent my 'Poetry List' through a blog called 'rmpInsights'.  it did not live long, my poetry list people were not really ready for the whole blogging world.  around the same time i began working on another collection of poems, 'Diary of an Anorexic Love Life' and a retelling of 'The Princess and the Frog' meant for teens, but still untitled at the moment.  i am still in the process of creating both.  (i'm not very good at maintaining focus--as it is i had to trick myself into writing my first two novels as quickly as i did.)

that brings us to more present day.  i started this blog just over a year ago after a dream i had that told me i had been neglecting a part of myself.  thus far i have written (including this one) 215 posts, of which 113 contain new poems (some may have more than one poem...so we are looking at about 123 poems total).  i believe this is my longest consistent poetic streak.  it also gave birth to a short story ('With Just a Touch') that, though finished in my head, is taking me some time to finish.  so why is this blog more successful than the first?  #1, i have my rules that keep me on target.  #2, this is not another attempt at reinventing my Poetry List (those who know me don't even know this blog exists, at the moment).  i can't quite explain how #2 has helped this blog survive, but i guess before i had the excuse of they're not bloggers and don't quite get the whole following idea, so i didn't have a driving force to keep me going.  that is why my #1 reason works so much better.

Meet the Children's Books
(image by rmp, that's me)

anyway, that is my journey.  i'm sure i missed somethings along the way like my three children's stories (did the illustrations myself which probably explains my not feeling the need to mention them) and super-short stories (some of them are a bit twisted).  this journey was inspired by One Stop Poetry who i should thank for providing me with a reason to reminisce, i know this journey was more than they bargained for.

Below you will find my first three poems.  the first, well i like roses (preferably shades of pink) and i've always sort of linked them to love.  the second, i'm still trying to figure out.  the third, well that would be teenage unattainable love.

---

The Rose

It represents love, peace, agony, and pain.
But mostely it symbolizes the love which I hold.
A special love that is held only for you.
It's a love that like the rose will slowly wilt and die,
but one which will blossom with the right nourishment.


Together Forever

'Til death do we part
to mourn for one another
Death will over come us
and soon we shall be one


You

My thoughts are always with you;
My feelings always for you;
My words, however, are rarely about you;
Yet, my heart shall always speak of you.

---