The Beginning of the Walking Poet

It occurred to me today that it might not be obvious where my screen name comes from.  When I was in college, and even in the years after I graduated, my main source of entertainment was walking.  I rarely drove my car, preferring to use my legs instead.  I walked to school in the morning, I walked around campus, I walked home, and I usually would go out after dark and walk again.  It was on these walks that I felt closest to God.  The more I let myself, the more I noticed about the beauty of the world that He had created.  The things that most people would miss because they were too wrapped up in themselves or in the worries and cares of life.

After I noticed things, I wanted a way to remember them or share them, so I decided to start writing them down.  At first it was on receipts, napkins, or any scrap of paper I could find in my pocket.  Later it evolved into a formal journal and finally my phone.  But at the time, my mind was wired differently.  I seemed to only be able to think and write in poetic verse.  It didn’t always rhyme, but it always had to have a flow…a beat count, if you will.

Some time had passed before I started to type up the poems from the scraps in my pockets, and I had so many that I printed them and fashioned them into a small book.  I had been inspired by a small book of poetry called Meet Me Halfway by Javan in which the author has small, short poems…quips almost…to express a moment or a feeling.  So, that’s what I set out to do as well.  The first book I called The Shadow and the Light, because I felt like there were two sides to me that I showed the world.  The one that everyone sees, and the one I keep hidden, only for myself.  I felt like I was finally ready to start sharing that other side as well.

As I continued to write, other books of poetry followed.  The second was The Window to the Soul, because I felt like my writing was starting to reveal more than just observations about the world, but was starting to reveal pieces of me as well.  I was starting to develop my identity and become who God wanted me to be.  The third was Sunsets and Solitude, which was more an ode to spending time with God, enjoying His presence in my life and enjoying exploring the gift He had given me.  This was quickly followed by Blowing Baby Kisses, which held a special place in my heart due to its double meaning.  It meant blowing small kisses, which I frequently did to my wife, and blowing kisses to my baby at the same time.  I compiled this around the time that my wife and I got pregnant.  Unfortunately, we would lose the baby, but the book remained one of my favorites.  The final book was Dreaming of Athens, which was inspired by the first few trips I had taken to my wife’s country of birth.

I eventually matured away from poetry into a blog (obviously), short stories, and long stories.  I believe the ultimate step in my journey will be to write a novel.  One of my dreams is to one day see a book in a bookstore with my name printed on the spine.  But no matter where my life leads me, I will always remember my roots…walking and writing poetry with God.

So the next week will be dedicated to that beginning, as I remember some of my earlier writings.