In Response To My First Poem
My prose poem, "A Can Of Coffee", was far from the first, but one of the most personal that I have ever written. Not only was it the first poem that I submitted to Poetry Soup, but it continually had the most hits from early June through early September. It still has the second highest number of views. At first, I wondered why that was the case. After a while, I think that I figured out the reason for the interest that it received.
All of life and created things in the universe are somehow connected and cannot survive except there exist some type of relationship. This is merely my personal observation, and I am not referring to or citing any scientific studies, though there might be some. I believe that we all are drawn toward each other based on what we feel could become a good relationship of some kind. Also, we are repelled from entering a relationship based on something we know or have heard about others. Even in the cosmos, a star cannot successfully fall and crash into the earth without the permission of the atmosphere which in most cases says, “No, you cannot break through to do harm to the people of planet earth”.
So I concluded that my story about “A Can Of Coffee” from a would be friend sparked interest due to the personal interactions that such an encounter entailed. The build up of a friendship between Bob and me that was short lived due to his demised, portrayed emotions that we humans thrive on. The story related so much of what transpires in many of our lives, and it touches base with our joy and sadness, our grief and our memories, our bonding and connections.
Though I did not intend to give an object lesson, for some, indeed it was an example of something that they would want to attempt. Many of us are constantly looking for ways ‘to break the ice’ or “to open the doorway’ to someone else’ heart, whether its personal or business, spiritual or otherwise.
I had no idea that my first posted poem would be of any interest to anyone, but I am proud and delighted that it did. It’s not always that we get a positive response to our “first” anything, and sometimes, there is a feeling and a question that asks, “Should I continue, or should I not?” In my case, there were other members of the sight that welcomed and encouraged me to continue. They reassured me that I had something to say. It speaks very well for Poetry Soup, and I am very grateful to them. 09282015 (for contest)