Poet's Day - 8/21/2012 A few of my Faves & Personal Ones

Today is "Poet's Day". In honor of "Poet's Day" I'm going to share a few of my fave poems and a few personal ones. I first got into poetry during my 7th grade Literature and Writing class. I began writing poems as a release for my emotions when I felt I had no one to talk to. My Aunt Sharon bought me a book to keep them in and I still have it, battered and worn....


Annabel Lee by: Edgar Allen Poe
It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of ANNABEL LEE;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea;
But we loved with a love that was more than love-
I and my Annabel Lee;
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsman came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
Went envying her and me-
Yes!- that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we-
Of many far wiser than we-
And neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling- my darling- my life and my bride,
In the sepulchre there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea. 

Touched by an Angel by Maya Angelou
 We, unaccustomed to courage
exiles from delight
live coiled in shells of loneliness
until love leaves its high holy temple
and comes into our sight
to liberate us into life.

Love arrives
and in its train come ecstasies
old memories of pleasure
ancient histories of pain.
Yet if we are bold,
love strikes away the chains of fear
from our souls.

We are weaned from our timidity
In the flush of love's light
we dare be brave
And suddenly we see
that love costs all we are
and will ever be.
Yet it is only love
which sets us free.

 This poem I wrote after I had an abortion in my teens:

Feelings of Loss
I am depressed, 
alone and unsure are my thoughts inside,
I wish I had a special place
where I could run and hide.

I cry a lot,
to let my depression flow.
I despise myself,
for reasons only I know.

Alone with my feelings,
I drown in my thoughts.
I regret what I've done
because of the misery it's brought.

Here is a poem that an admirer wrote for me:

 From Frank C.
Looking, watching, studying your face
Yearning for that first touch, that first kiss
Longing to be with you every day
There wouldn't be any tricks, I wouldn't play
Knowing that I probably won't be able
to hold you, and kiss you, and make everything alright
To look in your eyes, to hear you say my name
It makes me feel like we're the only two people in the world
All I'm asking for is just one chance
To show you how much I really care

I would share some of the poems my husband wrote me, but he is private when it comes to that so I'll respect his wishes...even though they are wonderful. 

If you like poetry, who are your fave poets? Do you write? Feel free to share in the comments! I love reading the poetry of others!