Recently, I had an intriguing conversation with a friend who is currently reading my autobiography, Walking in Footsteps of Promise. I enquired what she had found interesting thus far and her answer was quite surprising. She said that the poems at the beginning of each chapter resonated most with her. Moreso even than my life story. In fact, she had tried to connect each poem with the events that took place in the corresponding chapter. Although this was not always successful she observed that some poems were quite apposite and inspiring. This left her wih an overall feeling of hope.
From this conversation I was reminded of how poetry has been an integral part of my writing journey. Almost from the very beginning I have dabbled in writing poems of all sorts. In fact, during my teenage years through to my early twenties I penned dozens of poems. Naturally, some of my ditties were silly and fanciful, while others were quite serious and spiritual. Often, the most memorable and powerful poems that I wrote captured the deep, heavy emotions that I was experiencing at that juncture in my life. Without poetry I would not have been able to develop the fortitude to share my story authentically in Walking in Footsteps of Promise. Writing poems made me more comfortable to be open about my feelings and the struggles that I have experienced in my life. In fact, poetry was perhaps the earliest outlet that I found to express myself and process my pentup tsunami of feelings – from heartbreak to unfulfilled dreams, to loss and rapture.
Sadly almost all of my early poetic works have been lost due to the ravages of time, misplaced or discarded due to my nomadic lifestyle for many years. Nevertheless a few vestiges remain and are recorded in Walking in Footsteps of Promise, and I thought it would be nice to share them since in many ways they chart the evolutionary course I have followed as a writer.
Loss, Love, Life:
When do the edges of our imagination coalesce into our dreams?
Is it on the highest peaks of passion and promise?
Or in the exuberant valleys of hope and desire?
Does it even matter what you say?
This life was never about you anyway
You must exorcise your ego before you can truly start to live.
Few know where to begin.
Enlightenment is a lonely road
Lost
I am seeking for a kindred spirit
Someone who knows what I want without me having to say it
Do you really exist?
Or am I just deluding myself by believing in fate?
The more time passes, the more I feel the weight,
This invisible gravity which holds me back,
My inner lion yearns to be free and refuses to be shackled,
Or am I just lost in the vast expanse of the universe?
Adrift on a floating branch of presumption and ignorance
Where will this life take me I ponder?
Surely death is not a destination but only a final respite
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The nightmares of my survival still haunt me
Never leaving my side as they torment me
Even as I seem to move farther from my past
They are constant reminders of mistakes that can’t be recast,
My only saving grace has been my innocence
Yet, how much longer can I cling to naïveté and ignorance?
We all must come to terms with our demons
Confronting our failings has never been an easy task
However, beginning the journey towards inner peace is priceless.
Hope:
Hope is in the air,
It swells up inside me until I can hardly breathe,
Then slowly it diffuses through my veins,
Till I feel it fill every extremity, even my soul;
Expanding against the tide of fear and doubt,
Conquering the demons that plague me,
Unrepentant, as it impatiently drives me forth
Into destiny’s unforgiving path,
Trusting it’s eternal wisdom will once again prevail.
Thanks for stopping by. More posts will follow soon! As always feel free to leave a comment below. I would be happy to hear from you.