Writing to Stay Strong

Remember that teacher

Who encouraged you to write?

She’s the reason why

I'd found myself awake late at night

Scribbling thoughts and inspirations

Onto paper scraps. My expanding mind

Had been opened and flooded out,

Leaving no stray feeling behind.

“I want you all to try

Something different today,”

She gestured. “Write to fill an entire page.”

 We chorused, “But I have nothing to say!”

“Each one of us has a heart

That’s filled with something unique,

And I’m confident that you all are

Imaginative, creative, and want to speak.”

So, we all set off to write

Something brilliant and yet honest.

Reading mine aloud to my class

Was the moment I felt proudest.

Since my childhood, I’ve held

Tightly to that discovered talent.

Life has had its turns and surprises,

Joy and despair swung wildly in the balance.

Poetry is my stronghold

In a world that always changes

From one year of blessings

And transient phases

To a sinking ship

Damaged by shell and fire.

My spirit seemingly so low as to

Never return any higher.

When no one would listen,

I wrote down all I wanted to say,

Reflecting on the words of my teacher

Years ago on that September day.

Everyone has a beating heart

That’s filled with pain and memory

Which are released into their poems.

It’s an art of survival; a necessity.

Like many other young women,

I would not be standing here today

Had I not been encouraged to

Let it all out, to show what I had to say.