I just spent two hours remodeling my website. It is now ready to explore. As I update with more writing over the next few weeks, the earlier years will begin to fill up with content Until then, the content from 2012 is full enough to keep you busy. Here is the link. Let me know what you think about the new website.
Tag Archives: poetry
Why Haikus Make Me Smile
I miss your eyes—and
waking up to see them there
looking back at me
–Sofia
There is something beautiful in the way Haikus work. I’ve written poems, flash fiction, short stories, and novels. But now, thanks to a lovely lady in my life, I am finding the beauty in Haikus. They capture the same thing I hope to capture in all my writing–the emotion of the moment. With a Haiku, however, we are limited to 17 syllables (5,7,5). It is the perfect tool to force a writer to be concise. I think it will be a great tool for me. I have become much more precise in my writing over the past three years. This will force it even further.
Today, after a shortened day of work, I am getting back to work. I was able to write almost 1,300 words today. I need to break the 1,00 mark today. Unfortunately, as I develop this story, i know full well that I will not be able to share much or any of what I am writing for years to come. That is okay. I will continue to update my old poems and writing in the weeks to come. It’ll be enough to hold you over until the writing blog also becomes a travel blog. Here is today’s poem:
Don’t Fret. Just Write.
I spent a good deal of time last night wondering how I was going to write my current story. I worried that I didn’t know how to do it right. I worried about the order the story should go in. I worried about this and that. In the end, I pretty much gave up on figuring it out. Instead, I just wrote. It may not have come out perfectly, but it came out. I got 500 words on paper last night. So far this morning, I’ve already put another 500 words down. The story is starting to come together.
Today’s poem is a special one for me. I wrote it second semester of my 8th grade year. I had a huge crush on a girl in my class. I had no idea how to tell her. Instead of gathering up the courage to talk to her, I gathered up the courage to give her a poem. I printed it off and slipped it in her locker during the last week of classes. She never made any mention of the poem. But, after that, I had a small amount of courage that made it easier to talk with girls I like. This poem is my introduction to romantic life in High School.
Force Yourself to Write–Every Day
After the long work week, I am caught up on sleep. I spent last night caught up in a fascinating (and disturbing conversation with one of my closest friends. We spent more than an hour talking about what we would do if we were eccentric billionaires. Are basic conclusion would be that neither of us should ever come into money because we would use it to create strange social experiments.
I failed to write–yet again–last night. I need to start forcing myself. With only 44 days until I leave for the Peace Corps, my time is short. I want to finish the rough draft of what I am working on before I leave. That means a 1,000 word daily minimum is necessary. I will start this evening. I get back from Denver in the afternoon and have plenty of free time after that. I need to force myself to make this happen. Here is another poem from my 14-year old self:
More Work to Come
I am exhausted. I’m starting to reconstruct this website the way it should have been all along. It’s starting to look much better. I can’t wait until I start getting certain parts done to show off to all my followers. By the way, we just hit 90 WordPress followers today!
I am going to go have fun for a few hours. As a result, I will do all my writing and reading tonight. I am going to re-implement the 1,000 word minimum to my daily schedule. I will do that tonight. Somehow my mind develops better prose when it is dead tired. [As long as I am not to tired to write at all.] I am also going to start working on a new book. This one is one I have tried to read many times, but failed due to a busy schedule. Homepully that is not the case this time.
Enjoy another poem:
End of the Work Week
I spent the last four days in a Elementary School Severe Special Education classroom here in Greeley, Colorado. It was exhausting but amazing. It looks like I’ll be holding onto the same assignment for at least part of next week. For now, however, the work wee is officially over. It’s long overdue. I am sore and quite tired. I will sleep well tonight. But, before then, I have some writing to do–and a fun weekend planned.
I am going to work on the remodel a little bit then write for a little bit. As promised, I am going to continue providing you with poems from my teenage year. This one is from the end of 2003. Most of my angsty poems will be from 2004. Most of them are rather simple, but they are still enjoyable. Here you go:
Complete Remodel
This always happens. Every time I think of something cool that could spice up my blog, I end up biting off far more than I can chew. It doesn’t matter. It will be well worth the effort. I am redoing the site by time rather than by type of writing. It seems to be a better way to present myself and my writing This way, when you read poetry from my teenage years, you’ll better understand why it is angsty. It’s also the best way i can think of that shows how my craft has improved over time.
If you are looking to read any of my work, I would recommend looking through blog updates for now. The navigation bar is going to be pretty much useless until I finish my work–which will likely take at least a week. As I prepare the new website, I will be updating once or twice a day with old poems and stories. Here is one of the oldest poems I wrote. I was 14 at the time–just finishing up my first semester as a freshmen in my small high school.
Well Rested
I know I told you guys that I would be updating old poems last night. I intended to make good on that promise…then I passed out at 8:00 pm. I’ve had a couple of exhausting days in an elementary school special education classroom. It was so bad that my eyes started to grow tired as I tried to finish the book I am reading– 11/22/63 by Stephen King. By the way, this is not one of King’s better books.
I will update a couple of poems over the next hour (and work on the redesign). Until then, I want to direct you to a poem I think many of you will enjoy. I wrote it last semester while substitute teaching in a elementary art classroom. Eavesdropping on my students is one of my favorite past-times. Enjoy.
Haiku #1
today I leave my
love—tomorrow we look for
purpose in our month
Hold Your Breath
It’s be an interesting few days. I cannot talk about most of what is going on. I can tell you, however, that the next few weeks promise to hold almost as much intrigue. I have less than a week until I start of month of exploring this country. Connecticut. Iowa. Washington. All in five weeks. I cannot wait. I will do my best to continue updating as this Summer carries on.
Two updates today. First and foremost, I have a new memory for the memory challenge. I realized I had far too few memories about family. This one should make up a little ground on that level. I have also started adding videos of myself reading my stories and poems. This started off as a Kickstarter supplement, but I love to idea too much. Let me know what you think.
- New Videos
Richard T. Reilly 