POEMS

Here are a couple of poems from a dark period in my life.



ABYSS

"It can't get any worse!" I scream.
I'm not at rock bottom,
I'm looking up at it!
It's cold and dark in this black hole.

I pray but my tongue cleaves to the inside of my mouth
Fear paralyzes me
There's nothing to stop me
From falling into this bottomless abyss.





You left everything behind
Family, friends, job, possessions
All things familiar are bundled up
and tossed in the scrap heap
You move to a distant place
Living as a hermit
Choosing a life of celibacy
Poverty over luxury
Ugliness is better than beauty
Silence is your sanctuary
You knew that this day would come, 
Disappearing in the sea of life
Where no one knows you.



Poems by Genevieve

Writng and Reading Poetry

I have been writing much poetry over the past few days. I'm also reading some poetry including selected poems by Walt Whitman.

I am using prompts to begin and it has paid off. The number of  prompts is unlimited. I see now how any kind of prompts can be the seed to a piece of writing. I picked up from poetry books in the vestibule of a church the other day. I read several poems last night and was very impressed by the subjects and thoughts of the authors. I now remember using prompts when writing short stories.Guess I'm getting back to basics.

Review of 2014

There were a number of accomplishments is year. I wrote poems, read two books per month (crazy), improved my writing. My major accomplishment was reading five books by Jack Kerouac. The titles were: Beat Reader
          Jack's Book- Oral Biography
          Dharma Bums-liked this book the best
          Big Sur
          Atop an Underwood  

I am a big fan of the Beat Generation. I learned much more about Kerouac from many different perspectives. To me he was the best of them. He lived life rather than intellectualize what life is and should be. Kerouac has more more that I will read in 2015. 

Another achievement is that my interest in horror stories. I read Bram Stoker's (of Dracula Fame) horror stories and found them very creative and the type of horror that I hope to write about. It's funny but several years I thought that horror stories were junk. Edgar Allan Poe changed my thoughts about the genre when I read The Fall Of The House Of Usher.

I didn't write as much as the previous year but looked at ways to improve the poems I've already written. It's an ongoing process. Overall, 2014 was a productive year.  

OLD WRITNGS

Recently I read some short stories I had written over a decade ago. Some of them were fine as they were  originally written. Others could be improved or rewritten. Writing is an evolving process that writers go through.

Some people may have the notion that writers are insecure perfectionists who are never satisfied. What's wrong with turning a mediocre story into a masterpiece that will keep the reader hooked? That's what editing and rewriting are about. 

In the decade since I wrote those stories, there has been growth and evolution as a writer. I started writing poems in earnest nearly two years ago. I believe that because of the changes, struggles, and epiphanies that I was able to transition smoothly into that genre. In the process I see that writing novellas could be the next frontier to conquer. 

WORDS OF WISDOM

Poems in a way are spells against death. They are milestones, to see where you were then from where you are now. To perpetuate your feelings, to establish them. If you have in any way touched the central heart of mankind's feelings, you'll survive.

~Richard Eberhart

Writing and Reading Goals

Every New Year I set new goals in which will be achieved. I have some writing and reading goals in which I am working on.

1. Publish a chapbook of poems. 

2. Write an essay on one of my favorite authors. 

3. Read a biography of one of my favorite authors.