Finding Evidence that Someone Found Use for One of my Poems - Joe Flach's Blog

So, I was doing some vanity surfing on Google and I found a link to a Student Paper written about a "Unit of Study" on "Baseball: The Game of Life". The paper describes a unit of study the author is proposing for younger students. In his paper, he refers to a poem I wrote about baseball: "The Perfect Life". Made my day!

I am not sure what grade he got or if the paper was approved or not, but it was neat seeing the quote; "To begin the extension to the unit, I would like to share an inspiring poem by a modern poet named Joe Flach."

Pretty cool to see someone found use for one of my poems. Almost made me cry.

Having just one stranger, somehow find just one poem I wrote and putting it to use, makes the agony of having 1,000 other poems go unnoticed, somehow vanish.  I am a lucky man!

Today, for the first time in my life, having stumbled upon this link, I actually feel like a poet.

Thanks, stranger.  I hope it all worked out for you.  You made my day!

UPDATE:  I also found this link ( http://mwholocaustproject.weebly.com/poetry.html ) that includes one of my poems and some poems from others that I know who post here on PS.  Cool.

Nancy Jones Date: 2/13/2014 6:34:00 PM Most of my best stuff gets a rating of 4 or 5. My sentimental, brain-dead, cliched-to-the-max, tear jerking, thankyougod stuff gets rated 7. Go figure and hey there, Joe. Namaste ~N Login to Reply

Robert Pettit Date: 2/11/2014 5:49:00 PM I've always liked what you have written. I'm happy for you that you have received recognition from this person. Login to Reply

Nette Onclaud Date: 2/11/2014 4:45:00 AM cheers to you, joe... i found a few of mine on pdf file that were used as reference by students and writers' groups... will check what else is there.. huggs Login to Reply

Andrea Dietrich Date: 2/10/2014 8:49:00 PM If I did not say it yet, Congratulations, Joe. I will tell you at Soup mail my good news.Surprised some of these folks did not realize all the stuff about them on Google. It's AMAZING Login to Reply Joe Flach Date: 2/11/2014 12:46:00 AM Thanks Andrea. Soup Mail received and responded.

Charmaine Chircop Date: 2/10/2014 6:08:00 PM Awesome Joe..We are proud of you.I can understand your feeling!!Congrats! Login to Reply Joe Flach Date: 2/10/2014 7:29:00 PM Thanks, Charmaine.

Cyndi Macmillan Date: 2/10/2014 6:01:00 PM Joe, I am so sorry...lol... I barely said a thing to YOU about YOU having touched a youth in such a profound way... I was just so stunned, myself... good on you! Wonderful! Login to Reply Joe Flach Date: 2/10/2014 7:30:00 PM No problems, Cyndi - I'm glad to have had you reply the way you did.

Cyndi Macmillan Date: 2/10/2014 5:59:00 PM Ruben that is beyond beautiful... seriously. Your work was appraised AND praised (which it should be, hatman) and... ha... this genius kid has also blogged about HOWL. You are in the same realm as HOWL!!! (Cyndi turns and says, Come down from the ceiling.. too late he's floated off, beyond our reach) Login to Reply

Harry Horsman Date: 2/10/2014 5:12:00 PM Yes I have had the same experience Joe, one day trawling through the net, I came across a Canadian site called Tigergrove (still there)and in big letters was a title which I instantly recognized."Working with ghosts" accredited to me, the site belonging to a Ronnie and Heather Whitley Gibson..i do not know too much about the copyright laws but believe once published on the net it becomes a public domain aspect(I am sure there are people on soup that know far more than me about that,,but I was highly delighted to see it there ,also that it was very well presented with an illustration of a ghostly figure on a staircase, also attracted a very nice comment,,so like you Joe I was well pleased... Login to Reply Joe Flach Date: 2/10/2014 5:25:00 PM Thanks for the input Harry. I suspect it has happened to quite a few poets here and, just as Andrea says below, "that's what it's all about".

Cyndi Macmillan Date: 2/10/2014 4:21:00 PM OMG! OMG! I am thrilled thrilled thrilled... Stephanie Despande... the contest I am holding... her gorgeous work... she has put a quote I used in my contest blog on her page... instead of seeing me as breaking copyright... she sees (oh wonderful SHE SEES) that I am giving attention to her beautiful work!!! I have ridiculously misted eyes! She read me and liked what I said... I feel so good now, I'm floating.. JOE thank you! I would never have googled myself. Your blog inspired me to take a peek... I am such a sentimental idiot... she liked what I said about her work... dancing on tiptoes...http://www.stephaniedeshpande.com/ Login to Reply Joe Flach Date: 2/10/2014 4:37:00 PM I'm happy for you Cyndi! I understand how you feel - a guess a vanity search every now and then won't hurt any body and might help us realize whether or not we are reaching anyone. I am glad I helped you find this - in some small way.

Andrea Dietrich Date: 2/10/2014 3:22:00 PM this is what it is all about, Joe. There is certainly no money in it. But honor and gratification when someone sees your poem and wants to apply it to their life somehow. Coincidentally just the other day I was curious if my little poem form I named 7/5 Trochee was ever being used online. So I googled it and four things came up. A few poetry sites were actually using it for examples of that form!! A few other exciting things happened to me two weeks ago. I will tell you what they were if you want to know! Login to Reply Joe Flach Date: 2/10/2014 3:35:00 PM Yes, of course Andrea! You can post them here or Soup Mail me - or send me a Facebook Message. Thanks.

David Williams Date: 2/10/2014 1:52:00 PM Well done Joe... Login to Reply Joe Flach Date: 2/10/2014 3:41:00 PM Thanks, David. Who would'a thunk?

Painted Hunter Date: 2/10/2014 1:37:00 PM Hey that's awesome, Joe....and I like me some baseball, too. Login to Reply Joe Flach Date: 2/10/2014 3:40:00 PM Thanks Caleb. I've actually written a couple poems with baseball as the theme or a part of the content.