I WANT TO WRITE (A poem)

I want to write
Writing defines me
releases my inner being, unleashing hidden
thought and feeling
writing gives me peace as i live Achilles' lifetime of war
unwinds the protective shield that binds my soul
delivers me from troubled times and spaces
spaces filled with pain and suffering
spaces encouraging me to refuse to rise another morning
spaces filled with colours of winter's bitter cold
surrounded by spaces filled with red and brown
the colours of Autumn
ready to remind me that things don't get worse if you're already at
the bottom...
I want to write so i can create visions of spring
visions that bring new life, that spring to mind with
every new day
with the sound of every new-born bird's cry
I want to say exactly what i feel without conditions
with the freedom to make mistakes
I want to write words too deep for verbal contact
yet too shallow for global exposure in any context.
I want to be free
and that's exactly what writing let's me be.


I first started to seriously experiment with my writing skills in the year 2006, when a good friend invited me to a poetry session. I was in my third year of high school at the time, Grade 10 as it is called here in S.A, and was having a good time of it. Of course things weren't always easy.

There was life outside of school to consider, namely family, and then every other issue a girl of 16 goes through- most of which had to do with boys of course. So getting involved in the poetry club at Lyttelton Manor High School was something I'm glad i did.

Most of my entries at the start will be stuff that i have written a while back and my own reflection on those pieces. I realise that the above piece, for example, does not read as well as i first thought it did 3 years ago. But in an attempt to be completely transparent about my work and whether or not i have improved my writing skills and technique, i have decided to not edit it and publish it in it's original form.