I write because I want to see.
I write because I don't
want to forget.
I write because I
want to understand, to learn,
to grow, to change.
I want to remember
my family--Mom's hands,
Dad's freckles, Grandma's droopy eyelids,
my brother's ripped jeans and rumbling truck.

I want to see, to see the world
around me differently. I want
to know them, connect
with them. Relate to them.
I want to see late nights in the puffy eyes
and smell musty cologne on their skin. I want
to know why
their shoes are scuffed--where they've been,
who they love. I want to see people
in a way that they can be understood
if only in a small way. I want to know
their Dad--how he picked them
up from school in a rusty Chevrolet,
how he burned their toast each morning for breakfast,
how he watched them from the heat
of the metal bleachers, clapped and rooted
for their touchdown.

I want a touchdown--
to touch down deep,
touch the lives of readers
with what I write. I want
to write for me and
by writing for me,
I write for everyone.