Wednesday, April 1, 2015

The First Poem


oncoursesystems.com

There were no words for all that lay within
till, suddenly, there were all the words,
coming in a torrent like an unblocked river,
or trickling in small eddies 
into the far corners of her heart.

Her dad had died that summer
she turned fourteen.
And there began
a Great Unsilencing.


This is written for Magaly Guerrero's prompt at Real Toads for Day 1 of NaPoWriMo: What sparked your poetic heart? She wants us to write about the poem that began or inspired our poetic journey. In my case, when I was fourteen, sitting in school, suddenly the lines of a poem began to float through my head. I quickly wrote them down, creating my first poem. It came from I know not where, as I had not been exposed to poetry at home, though I read everything I could get my hands on in fiction. But after that, I continued to write poems for the rest of my life. 


20 comments:

  1. "The Great Unsilencing"!
    Perfect: from nothing to everything!

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  2. Don't know if my first comment made it through or not, but I especially like that first stanza. It echoes my own experience,

    Elizabeth

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  3. The 'Great Unsilencing'! What a powerful moment in any writer's life.

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  4. I also loved 'the Great Unsilencing'... Im so impressed that you can remember as well... I saw the prompt too late, but if I hadn't I'm not sure I could have gone back that far and picked a moment. Anyway, lovely piece!

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  5. Wow. What a nice story. How wonderful to be inspired so early in life. You were meant to be a poet and you didn't even have to think about it.

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  6. I agree, this is a ripple in a huge, deep pond-wow~
    I too love this feeling of the 'Great Unsilencing'-mind altering magic!

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  7. luv the last line, a perfect beginning

    happy you dropped by to read mine

    much love...

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  8. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  9. Perfect start for Day One. Best wishes, Sherry!!
    It's hard when your dad dies, even when much older.
    You don't have a 'Dad' anymore.
    Sounds like the poetry sort of kept you together and going back then.
    I'd love to read some of those early poems.
    ..

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  10. Poetry does feel like the great unsilencing--beautiful write and beautiful to know where it came from for you

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  11. This is short and like the torrent it describes--really well done, Sherry, and very moving. k. (Manicddaily)

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  12. Oh my goodness. Whoosh...goosebumps. Your poem, Sherry, is so affecting and effective. Perfect!

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  13. Yes! What better way to 'unsilence' what begs to come out than with poetry. I love this Sherry.

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  14. Once those first drop break the clouds' seal, what follows are wonderful storms... roaring.

    Love this! ♥

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  15. 'Unsilencing' is such a beautiful word, thanks for that, thanks for this moment of your life put here. Poetry was never a river to me, I have the impression I've always had to struggle with words to write anything. :)

    Kiss you Sherry!

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  16. "And there began a great unsilencing" Such a moving line. I think for many of us who write poetry we find it to be our salvation.

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  17. Beautiful, Sherry! Almost always the great unsilencing comes after we get hurt. Pain was such a vital thing to poets, was it not? Smiles.

    - ksm

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  18. I love that phrase,' a Great Unsilencing.' How wonderful that that happened.

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