In early June, I went to the Young Writer’s Workshop at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City again. I really enjoy attending the workshop, I think it fosters creativity in a really positive way, and it’s a great way to meet new people as well. The workshop has definitely helped me work on different styles of writing. For instance, I’ve been writing a lot more poetry recently, even though I usually tend to lean toward prose and realistic fiction/short stories. Here are two poems that I wrote while I was at the workshop:

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To Crying

When the fountain of youth

and a gentle heart

had just started to rise,

There was nothing to be done,

but watch you do your work

With the smell of fresh rain,

but the taste of murdered dreams

Sometimes I feel that

the sweet times are worth the bad

You feel, and you feel so much

like a bird’s wings that were struck

but is this better than not feeling at all?

They kick a small puppy and it starts to whine,

but I think far worse is if it just sat,

without a noise

The hurt will bring rain, 

The joy will bring rain

Crying at least, you are consistent

and for that, you are a saint

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Dear Jumpy

No other creature, real or not

compares to the soft fur on your paws,

the delicate stitching of your ears

Since September, I have yet to find

a place with less judgement than here

In your imagine conscious of unconditional empathy

You love in a way I dream to love,

You care in a way I can only wish to care

But Jumpy, sometimes I wonder if you secretly despise this life,

and under your smiling eyes there is a deep sadness,

and a wish to escape the confined space

of the bottom bunk of my bed

Is it fair of me to expect a beautiful perfect inside you,

when you can not expect the same from me?

I give you shelter, and a name,

but in the end, Jumpy

your being is never mine to claim, or create