Writing Poetry

Writing Poetry

To be able to write poetry either in English or in Spanish, I must feel motivated to do it or else I cannot write. There always has to be something that makes me grab a pen and start writing.

A friend of mine wanted me to write something in English and since right now Holy Week is one of my motivations, that's what I wrote about. It is what we're living at present so I wrote a poem titled "A New Beginning" about how I feel with respect to Holy week. Here it is:

Holy week is near
It's a time to celebrate.
Some go to the beach...
Others a vacation they take.

In times passed I remember
how total solemnity prevailed
and the respect held by humanity
was something to be shared.

Beginning on Holy Monday
Sepulchral silence was observed
In a spiritual atmosphere
where sacred music could be heard.

Processions everywhere,
Sacrifice, and prayers
was the order of the day
In unity to share.

Values have been lost
and with them... dignity
People only worry about living selfishly
the absence of Christianity.

Holy week is here once more.
It's a time to meditate.
Conversion and a new beginning is required
Our lost dignity we must recuperate.

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Maybe something funny occurs which makes me want to write about it. One of my funniest Spanish poems was one I wrote when my very best friend Alexa felt annoyed with me due to the fact that every time she phoned me she got a busy signal because I was on line. I had a celular, but sometimes I forgot to transfer my calls to my celular when I entered the Internet. So when she phoned, my celular wasn't "on" and she didn't leave a message because she exclaimed "she didn't speak with machines." LOL! I thought this was so funny that I decided to write a poem about the whole situation. When I gave it to Alexa, she really laughed out loud. She thought it was the funniest thing she had ever read because I had combined the words to rhyme saying exactly what was going on, how she felt and what I thought about it.

There have been other funny situations in Church, for example, and I have written about them and given them to community members including our Priest. They all have a big laugh when, as they say, I have one of my occurrences. I think that writing about funny situations is something I like to do. I'm always seeing the funny side of things. Sometimes my friends don't know if I am talking seriously or joking around because the funniest things I say, I say them without even smiling.

But having worked with children ages six to twelve for so many years has made me a child at heart and what I like to do more than anything is write poetry and stories for children. I have quite a collection. I also like to illustrate them.

I started writing in Junior High School, but I had an English teacher in seventh grade who once told me that too much imagination wasn't good for me. She complained that all my compositions were full of imaginary situations. She told me I had to come down to reality and write about real things. So I just stopped writing thinking it was a waste of time anyway. Why bother writing if I couldn't even please my teacher?

I picked it up again in the University of Puerto Rico when I was studying literature for children. At that time I really needed my imagination full force. Now I know that as long as I have my two feet on the ground, I don't have to worry about having too much imagiantion. It's one of my assets. If there weren't people with imagination, who would write poetry and stories for children? Who would draw all those comic strips? Who would illustrate poems and stories? Yes, we need a dosage of imagination real or fantastic.
What a pity I didn't write anything in all those years from Junior High to College. But I did dedicate myself to art: drawing, painting and creating all kinds of crafts. So I can't say I wasted my time. I just took a long break of some ten years more or less.

My chidlren's literature teacher in the University used to read my stories and poems to her other students and used them as examples of literature for children. She once told me that after reading one of my poems to students in another group, one of the students commented joyfully: "Now isn't this student just the cat's meow! "My goodness!" "She's a jewel." And everyone laughed out loud.