The English poet, Edward Young once said, “There is something about poetry beyond the logic of prose, there is mystery in it, not to be explained, but admired.” And in saying this he wrote what every poet wants their readers to know. Poetry is something that cannot be explained logically and not all poems are supposed to be logical. There are some that I write that I don’t even really know what all of it means, though it comes from my heart and I write it down, expressing my emotions. Sometimes poetry is different than that which you expect, poets grow, learn, live and through that maturing their poetry changes. My poetry has changed tremendously from when I first began writing, but in that change it is still me sitting here writing to you, just a more mature version. I have experienced more than I ever had when I began writing, and therefore my writing has matured as I have. It has grown and lost its innocence, though keeping its soul and the original heart. Please realize that it is still me sitting here and writing yet another edition of my poetry, it’s me, no one else, though I have changed and in that, I have grown and learned more about the world, more about human emotions and how they shape us; for emotion is an incredible piece of all of us.
This is precisely why I have titled this edition of poetry, “Emotions.” In the last few months of my life I have experienced so many new and different emotions, emotions I was not used to but that I have come to find intriguing. What we all feel is totally different, our emotions though, are all the same. And as James A. Michener once said, “I love writing. I love the swirl and swing of words as they tangle with human emotions,” this is exactly why writing exists. In writing we can all express our deepest emotions to the world, somehow freeing ourselves in that escape. And to see those emotions hit someone else when they read from your words on that page is a fabulous feeling. To show someone else how you feel and have them feel that too is extraordinary. Emotion is a deep part of the human existence and it is makes us who we are.
When I see someone feel emotion from my poems, when someone cries or laughs or smiles, that is the best feeling in the world. And in that moment alone, I as a poet, am fulfilled and completed, for I have done my job, gushing my emotions onto the page for you to read and judge, whether good or bad, it doesn’t matter. Because honestly, all a poet wants to do is hand you emotion on a silver platter and hope you react to it. I don’t care if you hate my writing or if you love it, that’s not the point at all… all I want to do is to write and have you understand what I’m saying and to accept that writing isn’t always logical. When I craft words, I’m not thinking straight forwardly like prose, poetry is something entirely different and all it is, is my heart in words and what I feel inside.
Roger Ebert once said, “Your intellect may be confused, but your emotions will never lie to you,” expressing my point exactly: that human emotion is exactly what I aim for as a poet, hoping to reach you on that level because it is the most truthful. So all I want you to know about me and my poetry is that emotion is what I try to hit when I write and if I evoke a response, whether good or bad, predictable or shocking, I have done my job and I am completed in that. Thomas Gray said, “Poetry is thoughts that breathe, and words that burn,” repeating my point. Emotion is the deepest place that we can touch another person and in that we are freed from our bondages, whatever they may be. And even though words might hurt occasionally, they might burn or sting, but in the end, they are just words and that is the point of the human experience, to be able to feel that hurt because then you know you are truly living.
I have gone through so much in my mind and heart in the past few months of my life and through it all I have people that I can stand against, people with a shoulder to cry on, to hand me a tissue to dry my eyes. And you are all a part of that, you are those people that I love and I appreciate so much what you do for me, each and every one of you has touched me in a very unique and extraordinary way. I have also learned who my true friends are and they have been fabulous and deserve to be thanked as well. As a teenager and young adult, there are so many emotions that we don’t think we’re ready for, but when you experience them they are exceptional and thrilling and addictive. I am so glad that I’ve met all those that I’ve met and that I’ve loved all that I’ve loved, because everyone in my life is completely inspiring. I will always remember you and I hope that I have touched you in some way, whether in person or even just through my writing because that is my deepest goal.
So remember that I love you all from the bottom of my heart, you truly are amazing people and I am blessed to have you near me and in my life. And your experiences are what inspire me to write, what inspire me to feel what you feel and to grasp those emotions you have, emotions I haven’t experienced as of yet. As Charles Simic once wrote, “Poetry is an orphan of silence. The words never equal the experience behind them,” please realize that not all my words come from experience, and there is no possible way that I could always express that exact feeling that is in my heart at that moment. Very often, there is more ecstasy in silence than in words, though in silence we may find peace, we will never find redemption and salvation. For me, I find more ecstasy in words where I can express how I feel and hope that the world will react, whether good or bad.
Casey
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