I found a collection of things I wrote during a college creative writing class in 1988 for various assignments. Here are some of the excerpts from the poetry exercises.
OH GOD
Cold, unfeeling words spoken
Gut-rending agony
Hot gushing tears
Unending emptiness
Through a haze I heard
“You have cancer.”
Hours of prayer
Days of crying
Nights with insomnia
Weeks of chemotherapy
Months filled with worry
Calm acceptance of my fate.
Smell of death
Taste of despair
Moods of depression
Feelings of desperation
Realization of time passed
My two months are over
“God help me!”
THOUGHTS
Love and friendship bridge all space
Make the world a better place.
To have joy one must share it,
Happiness was born a twin.
Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others
cannot keep it from themselves.
DADDY’S GIRL
Be home early
Don’t come in late
You’re only a sophomore
Let’s not debate
You’re not like your brother
You’re not like your friend
They may stay out late
But you’re coming in
I’m doing this for your sake
I hope you’re not mad
I just wish you’d remember
It’s hard being a Dad.
QUESTIONS
What am I? Am I a pawn on a chess board? Am I one rock in a million or a grain of sand on the beach? No, I’m none of these. I’m the star that shines the brightest. I’m the beauty in “Beauty and the Beast,” I’m the rare shell among lesser shells. I’m all this and more on the inside—isn’t it the inside that counts?
NONSENSE
I’m in captivity to my perplexity. They say I need humility to attain immortality. My captivity has lasted an eternity. It was a terrible calamity when my adversity became an extremity. I guess I should affect a gravity to receive a principality; but because of my iniquity, they sent me importunity. They think they have lots of equity only they really have enmity. I’ll say goodbye until my ability enables me to come to an affinity with my adversary.
EMPTINESS
Standing all alone bare arms held outward….
There is nothing except the earth and sky…
No one to communicate with…
Neither birds flying nor wind blowing disturbs the silence…
Nothing but nature…
A tree standing all alone in a wide, wide field in the middle of fall.
SUPERLATIVE MOM
You’re an unsurpassed mom.
One that’s stood by me and loved me so.
You’ve always been concerned,
And taught me all I’ve learned.
You’ve helped me through those tough times that always seem to last.
You tell me not to worry because these times will soon pass.
I think you’re the greatest Mom by far
And thank you so much for being who you are.
MOODS
Blue is the color of my sadness
Green is the shade of my jealousy
Yellow means I’m deliriously happy
Red shows my anger and my joy
Brown is evidence of my drabness
Black shows sophistication
Colors–the essence of my moods.
ALONE
The sun is shining
The wind is blowing
And I am blue.
The birds are singing
The children playing
And I am lonely.
The moon is glowing
The stars are twinkling
And I am sad.
BOXED LOVE
A love contained
Or a love restrained?
A love confined,
Or a love refined?
A love consistent
Or a love resistant?
Boxed love. It’s not moving.
OH GOD and DADDY’S GIRL were my two favorites although I enjoyed them all. Both of these poems reminded me of my dad because I was always a “Daddy’s Girl” so after he was diagnosed with cancer it was the hardest thing I had to deal with. I often wondered what he thought. Was he scared or in pain? He would never tell us if he was.
I enjoyed these! A lot of them I could very much relate to. A personal boss and friend of mine has recently been diagnosed with cancer, that one hit home. I was my father’s only daughter. He was killed when I was 15 years old.. I wish so bad I could have experienced everything that was in this specific poem. The colors one was my favorite.. Those remind me of my moods 🙂
Wow. Daddy’s Girl was amazing. You have a gift with writing.
The poem about cancer is very impactful and emotional to me. Although the lines are short and condensed, the words still have so much meaning and weight to them. I also thought it was interesting that the next poem’s mood drastically changes from sadness and despair to a theme of friendship, joy, and happiness. ALONE is the poem that perhaps stuck out the most to me though. I thought it was neat how it talked about how the nature is going on all around and how the world is taking its normal course, yet despite all this action and socialization, it tells how the world can be such a lonely and sad place.
BOXED LOVE and DADDY’S GIRL were my favorites. You should have really stuck with your poetry Mrs. Edwards, i really enjoyed all of these poems. I like Daddys Girl the most because I’ll be a dad one day and I just felt like I could relate to that one the most.