A Poetry Class

So, I guess I’ve decided that 2011 is the year to step outside of my comfort zone.  It’s time.  I’m 40.  Time to be a big girl and do new things.  For anyone reading this that remembers the wild and crazy days of my youth, you may wonder what the heck I mean by that.  Suffice it to say that I’ve spent many more years safe within my comfort zone than I spent doing… whatever it was that was thought “cool” at the time.

I’m taking a poetry class that starts next week.  Yes, poetry.  Doesn’t really seem like me, I guess.  I’m a fiction and non-fiction writer.  I’ve never done much poetry – aside from the drivel many of us seem to write in high school and, thankfully, outgrow at some point down the road.

Or is it thankfully?  Is it a good thing that we take all of those feelings and thoughts and bottle them up rather than express them on paper for the world to see?  In some ways it does help keep us from getting hurt – a protection mechanism.  If no one sees or hears what it was that hurt us or scared us or what have you, then they can’t use it against us, can they?

That’s not to say that all poetry is introspective.  Of course it’s not.  But it seems that most of what I wrote in my high school days was about, you know, the center of my universe – ME!  I think it’s largely the same for many teens out there.

That being said, I’m interested to revisit the realm of poetry and see what my “adult” mind can come up with.  Aside from my own interest in what will come out of my brain while attempting various forms of poetry, I’d really like to learn more about it.  I know what a stanza is.  I know that meter and rhyme exist.  I know not much else about the genre.  I’m hoping this class will expand my horizons and get some of those preconceived notions about poetry out of my head once and for all.

So, here’s to 2011!  Here’s to finally hitting the big 4-0!  Everything from here on out is a bonus!  Why not embrace life as if we only have it for a day?