Poetry Corner (Introduction)

The summer before senior year, I started writing a lot of poetry. It mushroomed into a full blown affair that I carried on in college - that was my way of expressing myself. Me and my pen serving as the extension of my thoughts.

I still do it on occasion but I'm nowhere as prolific as I used to be. To me, poetry is simple - talking to other men like William Wordsworth said. I didnt realize it til 2004 but I'm influenced by the Romantic movement of keeping poetry simple, talk about common themes and shed your own insight. Ralph Emerson said the Poet has to be unique so that's what I tried to do.

I didnt know it then either but being a Poet is like what James Baldwin called a Witness. Be a witness to the truth, testify of yourself and the world around you honestly. So without further adieu, here's the first poem I wrote at college (with some commentary I added later)

1st Day Emotions
8/30/2002

At last, it’s finally here
The day we’ve all been waiting for
We’ve anticipated this moment for so long
Now we are beginning to experience it
The emotions that are running inside our minds
Are becoming difficult to contain in the brain
Anxiety, nervousness, relief, and elation
Are running a race through our heads
It’s hard to describe exactly how we’re feeling
Cause all of us are affected in different ways
Some hide their emotions with a positive vibe
Others let it out when no one is looking
Despite all this, there is one common thread
We feel the same things one time or another
We may come from different places with different plans
But we are all starting the same journey.

I wrote this my first night of college in my room. I was listening to Ice Cube on my radio and started thinking about what this day meant. It’s the beginning of a new stage and I figured that everyone, no matter how calm they looked on the surface, everyone felt as excited/nervous as me. Starting something new brings about a whole set of emotions and people deal in diff. ways so I tried to capture that as well as describe my thoughts.