3 S.R. Johannes: Kidlitosphere Poetry Friday - My Road Less Traveled

Friday, October 10, 2008

Kidlitosphere Poetry Friday - My Road Less Traveled

I am trying something new!

Kidlitosphere

I just joined the "Kidlitosphere" world where I am hoping to make some new blogging friends and begin building a followship for my blogs and join a community of fellow blogging children's writers.

Can't hurt right? It's like going to school and wanting to make friends. I don't know any published writers and I don't really have any writer friends (except my great critique group) and I love to talk about writing. I have found that now I am blogging, - I want people to visit me. I want them to read my thoughts and love to read theirs.

Anyway, Kidlitosphere has a theme every so often and members blog about it.

At first I thought - Poetry - maybe this one is not for me.

But then I remembered, I started writing poetry when I was about 8. I filled a whole book with my poems and my favorites.

My Favorite Poem

I always loved Robert's Frost's The Road Less Traveled otherwise known as The Road Not Taken http://www.bartleby.com/119/1.html. Somehow it has ended up being a theme of my life. "I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference."

I started out on the "The Road Always Taken" and it was a corporate one. I climbed up the ladders of Accenture and became a VP at Bank of America. I always knew I was not truly happy but I made alot of money so I felt I had nothing to complain about.

Several years ago, I found myself pulled into a political windstorm that eventually led to the death of my corporate career. At first, I was devastated but I soon remembered praying for a way out, a new life, a clean slate. I found myself at a crossroad.

Did I take the one with "grassy and wanted wear" and revive my corporate career of mileage points and buzz words in Ann Taylor suits and great shoes?

OR

Did I investigate the "one bent in the undergrowth" by creating stories and using my imagination all while sitting comfortably in cargo pants and Payless flip-flops?

I chose the "Road Less Traveled".

My Published Poem

And Ironically, the first published piece I have is that one of my poems was chosen by Editor Andrew Karre at Llewellyn for the Deluxe Edition of Laurie Faria Stolartz's Blue is for Nightmares. http://lstolarz.livejournal.com/ (whose boosk are a great read). I thought I would include - my first published work :)

a student in life, a witch at heart, a legacy in magic, spells ala carte.

nightmares so real I can feel a breath, whispering warnings of imminent death.

white lilies line a jagged path, showing the way to evil’s wrath.

cards reveal the ace of spades, dooming a friend to live her last days.

words on notes strewn in red, ghosts from the past fill my head.

following intuition deep in my heart, flames of betrayal flickering in the dark.

finally escaping the pain of one less friend, yet knowing the nightmare may never end.


I guess my new journey along an overgrown path has begun. I know I will find my way and have a great adventure. I know it will an exciting and fullfilling one (I cant even imagine what it will be like when I get published:) ......

And I know it is on "The Road Less Traveled".

4 comments:

shelburns said...

Shelli,
You are definitely much faster than I was at this. I blogged and was a KidLit member for a while before I did my first Poetry Friday. Congratulations on stepping out there! I myself love reading and have had to become a writer to teach writing to kids. I admire people like you who writing is natural for them. I do dabble in poetry and you have inspired me to share some in a Poetry Friday soon. Welcome to our world.

Shelli (srjohannes) said...

Thank you for coming and for you kind words :)

Carrie Harris said...

Oh wow. I really like that poem, and how cool is it that it was published in the deluxe edition! I'll have to check it out so I can say, "Hey! I know her! (Kinda.)"

I recited "The Road Less Traveled" in the fifth grade, and it's stuck with me ever since.

Anonymous said...

Oh my god, I love Laurie Faria Stolartz book! That's awesome that your poem is in there! I love her work.