blessing...

my buddy Heather gave me the most awesome gift for christmas: the poet's companion. it was the textbook she'd used in one of her poetry classes and, i'm telling ya, this book is wonderful!

i've been struggling with the same batch of poems for months now. working often but barely making any progress to speak of, and the progress i have made has been minimal at best. until reading this book. i'm sure getting involved with a workshop is probably the best way to go once becoming serious about writing but, for now at least, i want to be private about the things i'm writing and the ideas i'm trying to explore. i don't want a whole bunch of eyes on work-in-progress or opinions and critique to swim through either... just me and the page for a while, that's all i want. besides, being a secret poet is quite attractive.

and now, with this book at my side and starting a notebook exclusively dedicated to similes and metaphors, i'm finally back in the saddle when it comes to the actual work of making a poem. it feels so great to be making headway again and to start seeing lines and stanzas that i'm proud of. thanks heather! best christmas present in the whole world! what a gift!: jump starting a person's passion and helping them find the strength to follow where their pen leads.