I Remember

The "I Remember" poem was not my favorite to write but was without a doubt the most thought provoking and therapeutic of the group of poems that we wrote. When I write, especially creative work, I look back at my past and invoke a lot of that emotion into my work but rarely do I ever write about my past. Going about this took a lot of emotional and physical energy out of myself. After reading the book "I Remember" I enjoyed a good amount of the book because it was very personal and you could relate his stories and experiences to your owns. With this personal touch I figured it was about time I write about my childhood and my experiences. In my second draft I would like to add more detail and thought into my poem.

Poetics 4

When writing my “I Remember” poem, I decided to use my best friend Selene as the subject. She was killed in mid-October, and since she was someone who I was very close with, I thought that reflecting on our relationship and the things I remember the most about her would be the best thing to use when writing the poem. Brainard’s book was helpful to me writing my poem because even though the events he remembered throughout his life were not in chronological order, they were events that stuck with him, and impacted him in so many ways. This encouraged me to freely write about all the things I remembered about Selene, and why she was so important to me. This poem was different for me than the others written throughout the semester because it seemed more personal. Not only was it something heartfelt, but they were all experiences and memories that I will forever cherish. This poem helped me in some ways with my healing process, and also to further recognize how special she was to me and how blessed I am to have these memories with her. The only difficulty I had in writing my “I Remember” poem was knowing when and where to stop. There were so many things that I wanted to include, but I restricted myself because I didn’t want to impose too much on my classmates. This was my favorite poem by far to write.

I Remember

This was by far the most complex poem topic to deal with. Dealing with memories can be wonderful and nostalgic, but it can be painful and haunting. I experience the latter. Revisiting topics in one's past cannot always be public, at least until the writer is comfortable. I don't believe it is a mater of maturity, but of time. Remembering times in our lives that make us uncomfortable, or angry, and reflecting on that is what makes us grow into well rounded people. A poem may not be the best way to reflect or grow as a person for all, but for me, I think it may be a start.