Publishing

Ok, so I want to get published. I feel my writing is adequate enough, but will it sell? My primary question is where do I begin? Does anyone out there have any suggestions on where to start, publishing houses that may be looking for new writers, etc? How did you get your start?

Sweet Rose

Sweet rose

the smell of sweet roses
always remind me of you
they bring back those fond memories
of walks through the park
and talks by the bay

with the stars in the
sky by the moon
and the sun in the
sky by the earth
what more

could a person ask for
besides the love from you

memories of a time
not long ago
when we first met
on that odd and
wonderful day

august 16, 1990

Unending Desire

Unending Desire

I have an unending desire
To feel your body next to mine
I have an unending desire
To make passionate love to you
All night long

I have an unending desire
To make the hot flames of love
Burn to their highest degree
I have an unending desire
For your love and mine
To combine

Passionate as we are
Our love binds us together
Drawing pure ecstacy
To our surfaces
As the white hot flames
Burn hotter
With unending desire

I ache to feel his closeness
I ache to feel his desire
I ache to feel his fullness
I ache to feel his love
He takes time to show me his love
He takes time to show me he cares

Unending desires build up
Inside of me
Making it impossible to breathe
His love suffocates me
With a passion
As hot as fire

Our love is as strong
As ever before
We bring out the youthfulness
In one another
And the playfulness
In our love

February 18, 1991

Why Poetry?

My father and I were eating supper a few nights ago and the conversation turned to poetry. He told me that he is surprised that two of his three children are into poetry to the extent that we write. My younger brother and I have both been writing for years and have enough to publish, but neither of us have had the opportunity to do so. I am published in a couple of anthologies through the International Library of Poetry, but it is of course not a paying gig. Anyway, through the years people have asked me why I became so interested in poetry and also who my favorite poets are. Well, I am going to attempt to answer both questions here.

Some of my favorite poets are e.e. cummings, Robert Frost, William Shakespeare, and Walt Whitman. I am sure there are others, but these are the poets who left impressions on me.

Why I became interested in poetry is more complex. In high school English we were given an assignment to write a poem. My poem was one of the better ones in the class, at least according to the teacher, and I found it to be a way to be creative - as I had not really found an outlet for creativity with the exception of band. My senior year of high school, the English teacher gave out awards to her students for various achievements. They were homemade awards on construction paper. Nothing fancy yet her way to show how proud she was. She gave me the "Poet Award". Here is the very first poem that I wrote (sophomore year):

War

Boom...
a sudden, unexpected bomb explodes
wounding people everywhere
among the trees
the streets, the yards
many wounded, few survivors.

Soldiers come in for a counter-attack
hoping to see the light of day
never knowing, always hoping.

War, what a word
always full of sorrow and despair
for people think that war is bad.

Sometimes it's bad
seldom good.

Look at beautiful America
we were freed
from Britain and the Queen
the American Revolution
and George Washington
saved us all from going under.

Let's all be jubilant
Let's all be free
come sing "America the Beautiful"
for you, for me.

spring, 1988

The Beat of Love

The Beat of Love

Every single beat is an
Anticipation for love
Yearning for someone
Searching for the one

The heart is a strong
And wondrous muscle
Pumping rythmically
To the beat of a song

Every time it pumps
The heart makes us aware
Of the life that He gave
And the love that we share.

In celebration of National Heart Month

7 February 2009

A Birthday Poem

My niece's birthday is coming up so I decided to make her a birthday card. I wasn't sure if I was going to write something cheesy or try to come up with a poem to describe her. I chose to write the poem...

Ariel’s Birthday

Once a little girl
playful and free
becoming a young lady
spirited, yet carefree

Loving to those
who fall in her wake
Reaching for stars
And dreams she creates.

24 January 2009

Poem on love

L.O.V.E.

Laughter and crying in your
Open arms
Visions of you in my
Every dream.

Lying awake at night
thinking of pleasant times
that we have shared;
just you and I.

Love can be wonderful
love can be sad
But a love that is so full
Can never be bad.

january 24, 1990

It's finally a new year! Last year was a very difficult year for me and my family. I am looking forward to what this new year has in store for me. I am hoping to post at least two new poems each week until my complete "archive of poetry" is up. As I have been focused on other projects and school, I haven't found inspiration in writing poetry over the past few years so what I have is what it is for now. I truly hope those of you who are reading this blog are enjoying my posts.

As long

as long as there will be
four seasons
my love for you will stay true

as long as there will be
life
my love for you will flourish

as long as we’ve got
one another
my love for you will grow…

January 9, 1991

Life's Journey

We are all on a journey; one that is very specific to our needs, wants, and dreams. God has placed this upon our heart and embedded it within our soul. No one really knows what journey must be taken. The only way to find out is to travel along a twisted road. A road with potholes and obstacles in our way. The following is a poem written some time ago as I embarked on one part of my life's journey:

Difficult journey

A difficult journey
Was taken
Down a long road
To find one
That would make
A difference
One that would
Be dear

It took many
Long days
And even
Longer nights
Until that one
Was found
Now the days and nights
Are filled with
A new journey

This time
The journey is different
It consists of
Making a change
Until that one
Was found
The routine was
Always new
Now the routine
Is the same

The journey
Will never
End
The path is
Too long

June 16, 1991

Other Stuff

Ok, so I am in grad school studying History and Culture of the Middle East. My primary focus is (hopefully) going to be ancient Iraq. My goal is to one day travel to this country and be able to see all of the remains of ancient sites. For now, I hold the sailors and soldiers in my prayers.

Here is one that I wrote in the earliest hours of our engagement in Iraq in 1990/1.

memory of war

a sound of drums
beating in the distance
a smell of death
in the air

the blinding sun
sets low in the sky
another day passed
another to come

the soldiers are awake
at the break of dawn
they prepare to fight
for the freedom of all

gunfire ringing in the air
a clinging memory
to those
who were there

november 6, 1990