At some point in our lives we have dreamed of writing, either a novel, a short story, a historical work, a drama or even a poem.  Each are inspired by the very experiences we have been fortunate enough to savor, the heartbreaks we have endured, the friendships we have forged and the tears that we have shed after a success or failure or the passing of a loved one or a good friend.  These experiences help us gain wisdom and experience which can be crystallized into a written work.  My works are centered on the shorter of the genres, poetry.

A guide to writing poetry is dictated according to the type of poetry one wishes to create.  Most modern day poetry is much different than the traditional rhyming and metered poetry of the past.  There are many types of poetry, e.g., elegy, ode, sonnet, quintains and quatrains, to name a few.  But with modern trends in poetry we have many different forms.

Walt Whitman in the early twentieth century, liberated poets from the traditional rhyming and metered constraints of the past.  With his new free verse form and poetic genius, he created many metaphorical homages to this life and this world in which we all live and breathe. I have chosen to follow Whitman’s example and not use rhyme, unless it is incidental rhyme and my works usually have no meter, except for the Spanish poems. Some of them do have meter, according to the rules of Spanish poetry. I have, however, reverted to some of the traditional forms, such as the sonnet, albeit a modern form of sonnet, quintains and six stanza poems on occasion, but also some freer forms like Whitman’s.  I am forging my own way in the world of art.

Poetry is an attempt to help us order this existence and hopefully help us to validate our own being.  It helps us to express to others the feelings within our souls.  Are there times in which you feel something within which is difficult to describe to others and difficult to put into words?  Poetry helps us to express those feelings, but it may not say exactly how we feel.  Sometimes those words just cannot be found to state the essence of these feelings.  My work often shows that struggle that all artists must face.  When Michelangelo created the great statue of David and painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel he agonized as do all artists to express the inner feelings they have.

The modern sonnet form is my favorite vehicle to express my feelings.  The fourteen line scheme helps me to organize my thoughts and to keep them terse and hopefully powerful.  Each sentence becomes a stanza in most of my works.  However, line beaks are important also.  Line breaks are a tool used by poets to give emphasis to the last idea or word at the end of the line or the first word of the next line.  They can substitute for punctuation.  Too much punctuation becomes pedantic, but not enough makes the reading of a poem tedious for the reader, if the reader is unfamiliar with the technique of the line break.  In order to satisfy both the need for punctuation and the emphasis of line breaks, I have used punctuation sparingly, but when it was obviously needed.

Some of my works express my deepest inner most feelings which are sacred to me and which I only share with others in order for them to realize the potential of such feelings and their importance in this life.

Poetry is definitely a gift and should be treasured as such and nourished.  It can help us be creative in other aspects of our lives also.  Expressing our inner most feelings on paper is a catharsis that will aid us in times of trial and exultation and can assist others to deal with these same feelings.  It is my purpose with my works to achieve this very goal of assisting others in their struggles in this life time whether they be all the way from pleasantries and exultation to the deepest depression and guilt.  I salute all my readers with these works and express my desires to make a good impact on your journey through this life.

Online information thru Amazon: Through the Eye of the Needle: A Book of Poetry