I don’t normally write poetry.
One day, however, I was taking my daily walk when phrases started coming to me. They repeated themselves and grew. By the time I had finished my walk, a whole poem was in my head. As soon as I could, I wrote it down. I revised a little. I stared at it. I wondered, “Now what do I do with it?”
Honestly, I wasn’t even sure it was a poem. And even if it was, I had no idea if it was any good. My practical brain wanted to just put it away somewhere to gather dust because “You don’t write poetry, Ker.”
But it wouldn’t leave me alone. I felt like it was something, you know?
So I sent it to a friend, Diane Sismour, who is poet. I asked her if it was even a poem, and what she thought. She thought not only was it a poem, but it had a powerful message. And she said, “I know an anthology this would be perfect for.”
Really? An anthology? For this poem that just fell out of my head fully formed and demanding attention? Okay. No harm in sending it in.
Enter the World Healing, World Peace 2014 poetry anthology (available now). This is a 2-volume work with many poets in it (including Diane), and the focus is on world peace, world unity, and human rights. The publisher’s goal is to get 2 copies into the hands of the United Nations delegates, and one copy to every member of the US Congress. The publisher wants the voices of the poets to be heard, because we have something to say.
It is a worthy cause, and I am proud to be a part of it. This is not an opportunity I looked for, but rather a case of the right poem meeting the right person at the right time. This experience is the reason I encourage all writers to write in different formats, as the spirit moves them. Experiment. Spread your wings.
You never know what will fly.
If you are interested in the World Healing, World Peace initiative and want to see how you can help and be involved, check out the website.
Have you ever written something outside your zone that had success that surprised you?
I had fun writing a flash fiction piece for the GLVWG conference contest a few years ago…and won! Love your story about writing the poem….way to go!
Thanks, Lisa! Sometimes writing something outside our zone can free us up to try something we wouldn’t have in our “normal” format.