Moments: Contemporary Verse from Around the World Eds. Sharon Derderian and Robert Lawrence
1998
Weight: 2 lbs
Method of Disposal: Donating
This is my first published work. Given, it was a scam. You could send your writing into a contest and, if you won, you went in the book for free. If you did not win you could still get in, but you had to pay a substantial amount of money. Of course, they did not word it this way but it was obvious. I was lucky enough to have a mom who thought boosting my ego was worth it--just so I would not lose my creative spirit--and I thought it meant something. So, I got this bound book with my poetry in print. Even then I knew it was sketchy, but I thought it still gave me bragging rights, though I never really bragged about it.
Please let me tell you now, that my mom was broke. Like broke, broke. And she still thought encouraging my creativity was a valid use of her hard earned money. Plenty of late nights and a lot of stress went into what would become this poor excuse of an anthology. I have held onto it all this time. And I will never forget what it did for me. Thank you, Mom. I love you so very much.
Now, I am sure you want to see the piece of shit I turned in. Here it is:
Love by Laura Lynn McKelvey age-12
My love for you is strong, yours is no more than a mere hello. I want you and need you every minute of the day.
You'll never understand me or even see me. I'm just a stranger among strangers. One of the many who lives everyday, but always seems so far away.
I would die for you, you would scream for me. I would lie for you, you wouldn't say a thing. I would kill for you, you wouldn't do a thing!
I love you forever and you'll love me. Never.
There are a few things I need to say now. One is that this is a terrible poem, even for me at twelve. I had better. Why would I choose this one? Two is that I might have been a touch dramatic and a little creepy. I would kill for you? Wtf? Three, it is amazing I thought I knew what love was at that age. Awww....what? It would be embarrassing except that, at some point, you have to recognize that teenagers (and pre-teenagers) have "no idea", and their feelings are still valid and important, even if only to them and their peers. You should listen and encourage.
P.S. I was such a lesbian.
1998
Weight: 2 lbs
Method of Disposal: Donating
This is my first published work. Given, it was a scam. You could send your writing into a contest and, if you won, you went in the book for free. If you did not win you could still get in, but you had to pay a substantial amount of money. Of course, they did not word it this way but it was obvious. I was lucky enough to have a mom who thought boosting my ego was worth it--just so I would not lose my creative spirit--and I thought it meant something. So, I got this bound book with my poetry in print. Even then I knew it was sketchy, but I thought it still gave me bragging rights, though I never really bragged about it.
Please let me tell you now, that my mom was broke. Like broke, broke. And she still thought encouraging my creativity was a valid use of her hard earned money. Plenty of late nights and a lot of stress went into what would become this poor excuse of an anthology. I have held onto it all this time. And I will never forget what it did for me. Thank you, Mom. I love you so very much.
Now, I am sure you want to see the piece of shit I turned in. Here it is:
Love by Laura Lynn McKelvey age-12
My love for you is strong, yours is no more than a mere hello. I want you and need you every minute of the day.
You'll never understand me or even see me. I'm just a stranger among strangers. One of the many who lives everyday, but always seems so far away.
I would die for you, you would scream for me. I would lie for you, you wouldn't say a thing. I would kill for you, you wouldn't do a thing!
I love you forever and you'll love me. Never.
There are a few things I need to say now. One is that this is a terrible poem, even for me at twelve. I had better. Why would I choose this one? Two is that I might have been a touch dramatic and a little creepy. I would kill for you? Wtf? Three, it is amazing I thought I knew what love was at that age. Awww....what? It would be embarrassing except that, at some point, you have to recognize that teenagers (and pre-teenagers) have "no idea", and their feelings are still valid and important, even if only to them and their peers. You should listen and encourage.
P.S. I was such a lesbian.
Yoink! Just saved that gem. Thanks for the midday smile :-)
ReplyDelete