When I first decided that I wanted to try to write poems regularly, I struggled with the concept of triggering the process. The ideas for the few poems I had written basically had come to me. In order to write more, I knew I would have to seek out ideas. After writing consistently for about eight months, I realize that the ideas are all around me. I simply have to be open to accepting them when they present themselves.

I wrote the two poems I am posting today after reading a book that was set in New Orleans when Katrina hit.

Approaching a Storm

How do you handle the hurricane when it hits?
Stand your ground.
Take the pounding.
You or the storm.
Winner take all.
How do you handle the hurricane when it hits?
Never again.
Drive away
though you long to stay.
Complete change.
How do you handle the hurricane when it hits?
Recede from the force.
Assess the damage.
Salvage all you can.
Gain despite the loss.

Life in Context

Decisions are not made in a vacuum,
but in the context of other experiences.
Choices are altered by the day, the hour,
perhaps the very minute that they take place.
Each time you ask "What should I do?"
All of your life plays a part in the answer.