Poetics 5 Memory Poem

This was a fun yet very emotional poem to write. I began free writing and many memories came to mind. There was a process of trying to define a theme, and then getting more specific by trying to createa focal point. Most of my most lively memories were my teenage years, and although I was close to choosing an entire life poem that would include all sorts of memories, it just was too complex. The thought of writing a childhood poem did strike me but I felt like the span of being a teenager in the 80's was a fun topic and so much of who I am now is defined by that era in time. I felt the Brainard's book helped lay it all out there of depicting an entire life through cultural icons, history, politics, sexuality, and mundane things that came together in a way that told his biography through memory and time and the most phrases starting with "I remember". It was a creative way to write a novel and it allowed me to see how I too can portray myself through events and hopefully tell a story that explains who I was during that time. Many times, I am labelled for looking a certain way and it doesn't take too long for most folks to see that I am probably everything that stereotype is not?! And I felt I did well by the positive feedback because what I essentially wanted is my own story put forth and for the reader to capture my personality, which I think came through very well. The entire week of rehashing these memories gave me an emotional jolt I didn't expect which gave me a week of crazy dreams!-but seeing those vivid memories documented on paper is invaluable!