Life began ...
SELFISH!
I derive pleasure from exploring and expressing my thoughts on subjects with little or no regard of how those thoughts may be perceived and received by others.
I write for me!
If a reader derives pleasure OR is exposed to new information OR their emotions and thoughts are provoked causing them to rethink past interactions ... BONUS!
Each time I add to my literary family, I bear witness to my own personal growth. When I started this journey of being an author, publishing one book was simply an item on my bucket list. I had no expectation of publishing beyond "What I Know..."
Sheltered by loving parents, grandparents and other family and friends, I was unaware of the ugliness of segregation until I reached junior high school.
I thought my grandmother preferred sitting in the first seat behind the rear exit of the bus because it provided quick egress. That was OUR seat and I went straight for it whenever I rode the bus with her. Little did I know, the choice was not ours!
Albert H. Hill Junior High provided my first flagrant memories of bigotry as well as the experience of standing my ground!
My 10th grade homeroom teacher at Thomas Jefferson (1969), surrounded by my white classmates, challenged me on the validity of my home address. I challenged her for inquiring.
I have experienced being the proverbial “only fly in the ointment” in corporate settings and had my ethnicity questioned for no other reason than the desk I sat behind or the manner in which I carried myself and spoke.
Current events, history, and life experiences of having been born and raised in a segregated community as well as my introduction to integration through education and employment are inspirations for my writing.
With each passing year, I find it easier to express my perspectives regarding current events, history, and their effects on my personal life experiences as well as their effects on those around me.
Many years ago, a friend told me she had learned something important about me--'if she was not prepared to hear the truth, she should not ask the question!'
"Poetry keeps everyone from being lonely."
"Live each day as if it were your last. Tomorrow is not promised."
“Excuses are tools of incompetence, which build monuments of nothingness, and those who practice in their use are seldom capable of anything else.”
Writing poetry is an outlet for the words I dare not express when disappointed in myself or others.
My first book of poetry was a "bucket list" item. I desired to leave more than a memory to my daughters.
Every one has a voice. My voice and what I have to say may or may not be what others are thinking or wishing to say or hear! Giving life to my voice, I discover whether I stand with the majority, stand with the minority, or simply stand alone.