I began writing poetry when I was in Elementary School. I still have the P.S.165 annual school magazine, typed on a manual typewriter, where my first poem was published. It was about a forsythia bush. And while I’m not sure why I chose this as a subject, as I re-read it, I now see that my love began back then for the precise economy of words used in poetry to describe the natural world within the limits of our observations and language.
When you need some time to still yourself from your mind’s freefall into anxieties and irritations, sit down with a pencil and piece of paper and simply look out your window; then just describe what you see with words. No need for complete sentences, that’s the fun of poetry! Put them in whatever order you want. Add emotions that come up. Create similes to whatever is going on in your life. Think about that bug crawling up the window and what its life is like compared to yours! Doodle! Just let your thoughts flow wherever they may go. You’re not getting graded, so Be Fearless!
