Poetry Corner: First in a Series?

For a while now, I've been thinking about introducing a new feature. I've tossed around a couple of ideas, but nothing really tickled my fancy. Then, in August or September as I was mowing the lawn, I had an idea. It's taken me until now to pluck up the courage to actually move forward with the idea.

A long time ago I used to write some poetry. This was back in high school and college. Being young there were a torrent of emotions running through me and I needed some way to express my hopes and fears. The result was some good, bad and mediocre poetry. I thought that it might be fun to post a poem every once in a while. If people like it, I'll continue to do it periodically. If not, it will just fade away.

But hey, this isn't all just about me. If any of you out there have a poem that you would like to share, let me know and I'll put it up in a Poetry Corner post, along with any back story you'd care to supply. Funny, but as I read some of these old poems from almost 30 years ago, I realize that some of the questions they ask have yet to be answered. I don't know if that's encouraging (life is all about the search for answers) or depressing (I haven't figured things out yet?).

Anyway, here's one from just after I graduated from college. I think I was beginning to realize that I wasn't in Kansas anymore!

Odyssey

The wind blew hard upon the sea,

The lightning flashed and I could see,

That what I was following was a myth

That had left me on the sea to drift.

I drifted about for a long time then,

Searching for my journey's end.

Trying to find my way back home.

Searching for it inside a poem.

Wondering what it all means.

Sometimes I believe it's just a dream,

And that I'll awake from the wind and surf

To find myself at peace on earth.

Other times it's all too real,

On the sea I can't conceal,

The emptiness I feel inside.

Sometimes I just want to hide

In a warm, dry place safe and sound.

Someplace where the surf can't pound.

Someplace where I can breathe calm air

And walk a while without a care.

Just a while there to rest

Before once again I go to test

The boiling waters of the sea

Always trying to solve life's mystery.

Well, there you are. There's more where that came from--if you'd like to read it. Let me know what you think. If you have a poem you'd like me to post, leave a message in the comments.