Inspiring Words

A close brush with death has an interesting effect on the person it happens to. When it happened to me, I went inside myself, deep inside--in an effort to rediscover my true self--my true needs, wants, desires, and beliefs. I discovered that I am always changing. I also discovered that I needed to share what I learned from that experience with others--those who are afraid to be who they really are, shying away from their true selves, living mediocre lives as a result, and feeling unhappy. I continually struggle with these feelings when my life changes once again, but I have learned to accept continual change as part of life. The poems in this book shed light on the process of my discovery, and thus I share that process with the reader. Secret Me came as a result of thinking, "Who am I really?" and, "Do I really want others to know who I am?" When I refer to I, I am not just talking about myself; I mean you, too. Some people live their lives secretly dreaming of another--until they decide to change and bring their life in line with their dream or change their dream. I wrote the poem You to inspire confidence. Is the way that I'm living the way I really want to live or is it some dry, cracked, broken shell of an existence that doesn't meet my true dreams and desires? I Want To Live is a poem that will enable you to see inside. What are my beliefs--religious and otherwise--and where do they come from? Do I have a choice or a say in my own beliefs or are they a foregone conclusion based on the circumstances I was born into? These are the questions I asked myself as I wrote Ruled by the Fear of God, Saved by Love and Passion. Now I share them with you. My response to someone dear to me who said, "So What If God is Just Your Imagination?" is given in the poem with that title. Is God Your Imaginary Friend? If he is, that's sad, "but it's a start!" Do people who talk about God or believe in God out of desperation--myself included--end up believers because they are ripped to shreds, torn down to new lows, grasping desperately for a friend in a cruel unjust world and all they can find is God--an imaginary friend? This poem is my response. Invisible speaks to how we sometimes feel and how the spoken word can play with those feelings. I saw firsthand how the spoken word can be even more powerful than the written, when I read this poem out loud and it brought tears to the eyes of some audience members at a recent poetry reading. Watching someone else suffer drew out I Dream as I thought about the suffering I experienced and from which I emerged a better person. What If Jesus is a poem I wrote in the dark of night as I awoke full of thoughts flowing out of me. Listening to my atheist and agnostic friends, my past and current self, as well as continually reading about Jesus, this poem was a decision in words that came rushing out and ended in a crash of tears as I found myself on my knees begging God for understanding as I righted my feelings about Jesus. I hope the poems in this book inspire you to find yourself.