Truth Thursday: My Return to Poetry

There were times in my life where life was darker and duller, and it was easier to write poetry. Poetry as a means of expressing the depths of my soul and the truth beneath the surface used to be a primary means of expressing myself. But life got better, I made friends, and I stopped writing so much because social life does take time. Not that I'm complaining. I really enjoy being around my friends, and they teach me a lot about how to write about people without even knowing that they are. But it does make it hard to write about the dark things I so enjoy exploring and trying to understand, despite not having fallen too far into darkness myself.

Recent events have prompted me to begin a new project, which I have entitled Fragments. (Click here to read it). And honestly, I have found myself in a dilemma. When things get difficult and life is hard, my writing is better, and that naturally makes the writer in me very happy. But at the same time, I'm trying to understand what it means to use my writing to bring more happiness to the world, because let's face it, there's enough sad poetry in the world as it is.

So since it's Truth Thursday, I will be honest. It's been a hard last few days for me, and poetry has helped alleviate a lot of the pain, as well as many other factors. Maybe I need to stop pressuring myself to write and allow myself to use this difficult moments to produce something that will connect with people. Maybe I need to be less negative. I'm not sure what it is that would be wisest right now, but simply realizing a problem exists in the first place seems like a good step to me.

It may be a while before I resolve this discrepancy between what it means to be happy and what it means to be successful as a writer, but I trust it will be interesting as I grow as a writer and a person. Expect updates about this some time in the near future, I hope.