So Many Yet So Few

?Writing poetry, to me is like a form of catharsis. You are exposing all of your feelings and letting it all hang out. We often are exhibiting extrovert tendencies to cover up our introvert ones. It is called a compensation reaction. We want to be a big hit, be in the limelight and receive all of the glamor and attention. Yet, why not just concentrate on one, sole, individual person. If I have met their wants and needs and fulfilled their hopes and dreams and desires, I have been a 100% success as far as I am concerned. So what if only 50 people skim over my poem, another 50 were highly critical of it and another 50 just thought it was me showing off and show boating. How about the other 50 who just thought I was trying to be one of the boys by wearing my baseball cap in front of the crowd? The people are trying and pretending to be someone else. They want to be their own built in entertainment center. My complete poem is contained on one, individual sheet of paper. No one has to read through a 500 page book trying to find it. It is right there before your very eyes just existing and persisting as it is. So what if you read it. All the more power to you. If you gained some value and insight out of my poem fine. If you became motivated to write a poem of your own even better yet. It makes no difference what value you place on my poem. It really only matters how I and that one other reader feels about it. I am trying to keep this short, sweet and simple, the magic KISS formula. In other words, poetry is what you make of it to meet your own preferences. It is one poem written by one poet out of millions of others who have written over 100,000 poems. That is how small I and my one small poem are. But, in the end, my poem ended up offering comfort and support to one other soul in need of it. I don't have to prove myself to anyone. Self-satisfaction and satisfying that one other person is what the most important thing. I have done that and achieved success in my own eyes. First, I pray to God for His divine guidance. Then I start and complete my poem. After that I thank God for his profound assistance. I offer him praise and pray that He will give me another poem to write. Everything is subject to change and we must be flexible and adapt accordingly. God, I am glad that You are God and I am not. There ain't one iota of a way I could possibly do all that You do. That is what is so intricate and unique about God. He can both be the biggest and smallest thing at the same time. As a matter of fact, He is being that He is all and everything. Not only that, God can even put up with me bless His heart. Bonnie Hollywood-Cutts, remember that when I cut something into. I have two pages of equal proportion now to write on. I can still write the same amount but now can spread it out on two pages. I can then give you one half of it and we can write poems together. Bonnie is a name significant with bonding together in thought, word and deed. So Bonnie, every time you hear your name think of bonding together. I do. Also, Bonita is the female form of pretty in Spanish. You are a bona fide form of an absolutely positive contribution to poetry and I thank God and you for it. There are so may others out there just like you and me badly in need of support and comfort. Poetry Soup is definitely a sounding board to do this with. James Thomas Horn Retired Veteran and Poet