Two weeks. Only two weeks since a little piece of me has been released to the world. And while I anticipated ample love from my people, I didn’t expect the outpouring of support I received. I was simply floored by it. It’s taken this much time for me to get around to putting my words of heartfelt appreciation down. So here I am.
I have always loved writing — poetry, short stories, and even a screenplay once. While some of my work won contests as a child, I never truly believed I was good enough. And so, like many things we love but don’t trust ourselves with, I stopped. For a long time.
It wasn’t until a season of deep emotional hardship that I found my way back to pen and paper. And when I did, the words came flooding out of me like I had been unpacking decades of unresolved emotions all at once. Writing wasn’t just something I loved anymore — it was something I needed.
I saw this challenge on social media where you write one poem a day for 30-days, this company would publish it and I could potentially win the attention of a publisher. I read the fine print and became discouraged, but that is where a friend stepped in. She challenged that I write one poem a day for 30-days then self publish. I had never considered that as an option and I suppose with how accessible everything is now, why not? At this point I already had a handful of poems written and I had so much more to get out of me. So I wrote.
By day 30 I had well over 30 poems and I knew I wasn’t done. I started to see an overall story arc forming and I knew I had something beautiful developing. By the time I felt this was completed I had 61 poems and divided them into 4 parts- The Breaking, The Ache, The Becoming, and The Bloom. I had a book of poetry that followed my journey from heartbreak, to rediscovering desire and working through anger, to planting seeds, that all lead to the greatest love of all— self-love.
What really takes my breath away is how my raw emotions put into words on paper have impacted others. The comments, reviews, and stories I am getting from people who have read my book leaves me in awe. And better yet, to hear which poem resonates with someone and why is so beautiful. I did that. Me. What?! Someone pinch me!
If Midnight Garden has found its way to you, I would love to hear which poem found its way to your heart.
S🌙
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