Side Effect

I've been writing a lot of poetry recently. In fact I've got so many poems now I'm estimating that my first book of poetry will be out next year. All I need is fifty poems and I've got thirty-one poems now and another dozen or so that I'm working on to add to my collection. That means when all is said and done I'm within seven poems and I'll definitely write that many poems in the new year if current trends continue.

But there's an interesting side effect of all this poetry writing that I wasn't expecting. I seem to be more in touch with my feelings and emotions. That's not surprising since many poems are about a feeling or an emotion, just an unexpected because I've been writing poems for years and never experienced this before.

Not that I'm complaining. I like this side effect. It makes me feel more alive than I have in years. I've spent my life large part of my life working, like most people. The routine of the day, the drudgery of work, and the small moments of relaxation with a game in my phone, or a video clip on Facebook, sort of drain away my spark, my edge, and zeal for life.

But writing poetry helps to counteract that for me. And I didn't realize it until the last few weeks when several poems spilled out of me and into a text document the other day. It felt good to say a few things that had been in there for some time.

Keep writing everyone.