Happy Poetry Month! Today, I’m sharing excerpts from three of my books that take a meta approach to poetry. These poems explore what it’s like to be a poet, the struggles and joys of creating, and the moments when the act of writing becomes part of the poem. I love a good fourth-wall break, and I think my fellow poets will appreciate these pieces just as much as I do. Talk again soon, Alicia.
Excerpts from I Hope My Voice Doesn’t Skip
There is no beauty in pain. We imagine there to be, though. The idea of beautiful pain is human made, created by the writers and the dreamers who romanticize recollections. – I Hope My Voice Doesn’t Skip
I’ll miss you longer than you ever would’ve stayed. / That’s what writers do, / how we make it through / being betrayed. – I Hope My Voice Doesn’t Skip
I write it down to untangle my stomach knots. – I Hope My Voice Doesn’t Skip
After I am gone, my words will be excavated. Dug up, dusted off, preserved. My cross-outs that never became thoughts, my thoughts that never became words. Perhaps a lingering eyelash or finger smudge will reveal itself. And my words will be shared, and I will speak again. – I Hope My Voice Doesn’t Skip
Excerpts from The Music Was Just Getting Good
We showered together / that last morning; by the afternoon you left. / I cleaned the sheets, / made the bed. / There’s a story I’m writing / based on actual events, / but I don’t want to give up the ending yet. – The Music Was Just Getting Good
I’m slow to respond, but fast to make up an excuse for the delay. I wrote a whole book about this before, so, at least give me some credit for my consistency. – The Music Was Just Getting Good
Excerpts from Sorry I Haven’t Texted You Back
So the story always goes, / I’m your soulmate or your foe, / writer’s blocked or on a roll. – Sorry I Haven’t Texted You Back
I’ll write about us until the words no longer fit. I am all in. All in. – Sorry I Haven’t Texted You Back