Someday I will?...

[-Sasha-]

Lately I've been having more bad days than good days. Today I woke up and it seemed as though it could go in either direction. Wanting it to be a good day I started thinking about things that made me happy, and ended up making some goals for myself. I thought I'd share and invite you to share yours as well.

As for me, well I used to play slowpitch softball from childhood until about 7 yrs ago, in adult leagues. I loved it! I played at least 3 days a week, not including tournaments. I know I won't be playing as much as I used to but I'm still young and want to get back into it.

Another thing I want to try again is writing. I used to write poetry, and every now n then short stories. I think I'm finding my voice again so hopefully words will flow through me like they used to.

What's something you guys would like to do again? Or maybe even try out something you've never done?

~S~

[Hidden]

I love this! I want to create a beautiful little shade garden for myself, I have hundreds of ideas all saved on Pinterest. I need the umph to get out in the dirt.

[-Sasha- in reply to Hidden]

That's great! I've never explored gardening but heard it's very therapeutic. You planning on doing vegetables, flowers, both?

~S~

[Hidden in reply to -Sasha-]

I sometimes do vegetables in the front of the house because there is so much sun. This tiny spot is on the north side of my house right under my kitchen window. My goal is just for it to be lovely, so flowers and shrubs.

[Sad_Sausan]

I want to get back to my writing as well! I recently set 3 goals for myself, one of them is to write my story and view on depression and anxiety. As of yesterday after a thousand tears, I wrote 1/4 of a page.

[-Sasha- in reply to Sad_Sausan]

Good for you on already having goals. I just came to the realization that I needed to give myself goals to work towards. Otherwise I turn into a robot just trying to function on a daily basis.

1/4 of a page is more than you had a few days ago so it's progress right. I've held a pen over a paper several times over the past few weeks and the pages are still blank. So believe me I know how hard it is to turn your thought's into ink. Just try and add a little more everyday, even if it's only a sentence. If you ever want to share, I'd be happy to read it.

~S~

[Sad_Sausan in reply to -Sasha-]

Thanks for the positive responce :).

I'd be happy to share it with you, as soon as I put pen to paper!

[mrmonk]

What a great topic!

For sure, someday soon I will publish at least one book of poetry, my first. I have almost enough poems written that I'm satisfied are ready to self-publish in a small chapbook and make available for free on Amazon.

Something I used to do that I would love to do again? Well, back when I was a college student, I hosted a weekly, two-hour poetry program on the university terrestrial radio station, where, in addition to a smattering of songs, I played recordings of poems being read by the poets who wrote them and, in the cases of poets who lived before sound recordings, I played recitations made by actors or other designated readers. These recordings were culled from existing audio available online (which has grown exponentially since), and also a large collection of poetry recordings on vinyl, cassette, and CDs that I own (currently collecting dust in storage). I was only on the air for a couple of semesters when I had to leave school abruptly, and I was just getting my footing, but I absolutely loved it and had so many plans for the show, including having guest poets come in live on the air to read and talk about their work, plus producing deep-dive, mini-documentaries of lesser-known poets and their work. I would love to do something like this again as, say, a podcast, someday.

I do hope you'll take to writing poetry again. I wrote in my last post on here that I believe poetry to be the truest art of empathy. The more poems in the world, the better.

[-Sasha-]

Wow, a poetry book is an amazing goal. I envy the fact you have almost enough poems for a book. It's motivation for a future goal for me.

I was young when I started writing and didn't know many kids or adults who had passion for poetry like I did. I would have loved to listen to a radio station dedicated to poetry back then. It's something to look forward to... With so many resources available to explore now, I'm definitely looking forward to rediscovering my connection with words.

Your ideas for a podcast sound awesome. I love that you could be a platform for unfamiliar poets, or even up-n-coming poets. One thing I never was good at was sharing. I showed my poems to as few people as possible. Sharing still isn't my strong point but I'm working on it. Hopefully in the near future I'll be able to share something I've written. Thank you for sharing.

~S~

[mrmonk in reply to -Sasha-]

Oh, it would only be a small chapbook of poems -- maybe a dozen or so, mostly composed years ago -- though I do have ambitions to publish a proper book of poetry eventually. The idea would be to fold the poems from the chapbook into the larger book, which would be more thematically cohesive.

But I think the key is start off with a small, accomplishable goal. Hey, if I can do it, I know you can, too!

Thank you for your encouragement on the podcast idea. I know there are a glut of venues for poets with MFA credentials and for spoken word artists, but I would love to create a space that also has room for poets whose work may not otherwise have as much exposure. Also, there are so many minor, unheralded poets from the past that should be celebrated.

Do you enjoy reading poetry, as well? Any favorite poets or poems?

Writing a poem is such a personal, private act, the words occupy a place of immense vulnerability sometimes, it can be daunting to share with others, so I understand your apprehension. Once I finish a poem, I may only share it with a few people close to me, whose opinions I trust. Then, as I move towards refining and publishing, I may share with more people. I wrote a few poems last year that came about as a result of posts that I read in these forums, so I felt okay to share them here, as well.

But sharing comes in its own time, if at all. I just think it's exciting to imagine the poems yet to be written, a person hearing the tone of her voice and the timbre of feeling -- maybe for the very first time -- and, possibly, the breathtaking feeling of finally being truly heard.

[Oct7skye]

I’m very happy you are setting goals. It does help a lot to keep us motivated. I personally have set the goals of going back to school, socializing more and keep up with the creative activities with my children.

[-Sasha-]

At the rate I'm going with writing, a dozen stories is like a novel for me lol I know I could do it eventually, hence it being a future goal, but for now my goal of just starting to write again is good for me.

I don't know much about the poetry world right now. From what I've come across, i enjoy hearing it more than reading it, especially if it's from the actual poet. They have so much passion, it's almost addicting to watch. Any suggestions for me?

I get you when it comes to sharing. Sometimes, depending on the nature of the poem, I would only let certain people read them because I felt maybe they could relate to it. I think it was just fear of judgement and rejection. They're so personal and you put your heart and soul into it you know. I didn't think I could handle any negative feedback or constantly wondering if they thought something was wrong with me. Anyway, you're right it's exciting to think about writing again. It'll take some time but I'm looking forward to seeing where my imagination and creativity can take me.

~S~

[mrmonk in reply to -Sasha-]

What sorts of stories do you enjoy writing? Any particular genres?

As for recorded poetry suggestions, oh my, there's just so much on YouTube alone! Lately, I've been watching/listening to a lot of the spoken word artists on the Button Poetry channel on YouTube; my favorite poet on that channel so far is Hanif Willis-Abdurraqib.

There are lots of poetry websites that include audio of poets reading their work, including the Academy of American Poets -- definitely worth a listen to any of them:

poets.org/poetsorg/poems?fi...