10 Years and 14 Men Later: A Tribute to the Men in My Life

I had dreamt of having a happy lasting love as a young girl. Life however took me on a different path and I found myself in and out of different relationships, where I looked earnestly for the love I longed for. Eventually, worn out, I felt as though I was losing myself. I felt a deep sense of loss, anger, grief, frustration and increasingly, the sense of utter failure as a person. When the weight of emotions became unbearable, I cried long and hard, and then decided to look back objectively at each relationship, taking responsibility for the part I played in their seeming failure and looking to see if I had gained anything from being in those relationships. I found that I had grown, I had become wiser, and the weight of emotions I had carried for so long was no more. I had found myself.

I have been interested in poetry for as long as I can remember. Over the years I have written poetry for my friends and family and read my work before audiences. I had not thought of publishing my work until I was encouraged to do so by those who had read or heard me read my poetry. My hope is that this work will be the beginning of a journey that many will enjoy being a part of.