"And where smiling had been the easiest thing"
...
I remember feeling so lost
The mask I had been wearing had paid its cost
Left breaking: my eyes revealed the wounds of my soul
And nothing I would do could regain my control
...
I remember how hard it was to smile
The weight of my life awaiting its trial
No matter what I did my heart could only cry
And so, I left all my tears to dry
...
I remember what it felt like to be broken
To know that I was alone - my pleads outspoken
I began taking risks; blindly reaching about
And no one would hear my screams breakout
...
I remember what it felt like to lose
To realize no amount of resistance would keep away my dues
That all who had left would be in vain
And so I took the pain and fought its restrain
...
I remember what it felt like to be caged
The physical one more welcoming than what my mind had waged
Where war's blood stained the distinction of what was real and what had been before
And nothing provoked me in missing that war
...
I remember what it felt like to be free
Where the ghosts and viruses in my thoughts held no guarantee
Leaving myself unscarred and capable of anything
And where smiling had been the easiest thing
...
I remember finding myself reveal
That changing so much had never felt so real
My heart renewed and my soul no longer shattered
And now I can live this life unscathed of whats been scattered
...
I remember finding what family defined
Where no one was left behind
Of friendships and bonds solving every lock's key
And I would never forget what they had taught me
...
I remember many things in a life that cannot falter with expression
A life I've learned to love despite its oppression
Because now I am free of past expectations
Leaving me to seek the mantle of my aspirations
This poem has been the most challenging so far. Lighting Chimera was a close second because reverse poems tend to be tricky but this one was a challenge because I was adjusting Lucy's experiences to what she has become in the latest chapter. Hope you all enjoyed! I appreciate everyone's reviews and your kind words!
Poet's advice: A good way to make sure a poem remains both a set rhythm as well as its rhyming is to voice what you've written each stanza and then the entire poem once completed. I often use Word Hippo to make words easier to pronounce when the rhythm is off-key and so forth. Rhymezone, on the other hand, is perfect for finding rhymes along with definitions where Google may fail.
Second, lay out what you want as the structure of your poem. If you're like me and have experience (or trust in your abilities) then feel free to modify it to make it unique to yourself. In this poem, I've done an AABB pattern while every fourth line of each stanza (apart from the final) begins with and. Voicing your stanzas aloud allows you to help find flow between the third line to the fourth line per stanza to make sure no flow is lost.
Finally, make sure that the final stanza is your conclusion. In this poem's case the entire structure has a sort of nostalgic/reminiscent feeling to it where Lucy longs for the past, grieves for what has been, where she hit rock bottom, and then found her strength to continue. The second to last stanza should typically build up to the final. For example, in this one's case, Lucy is tying together what nakama means to her during the first life she lived to the second and how it has given her strength and life (of free-spirit). The fourth stanza is where Lucy basically says, "Life has been a struggle but I've learned to love it because of the bonds I've made and what strength my friends have given me. I am free of the burdens I once held because I no longer live in the past. I can now seek my goals true to who I am."
For years people have been telling me I have a talent for poetry but really it was an outlet for me to speak when I felt I had no one to talk to. I've been a poet for five years and the first two years I was a rookie through and through. I've become so "talented" overtime because I've practiced and put my heart and soul into these poems. Which is pretty much the key to becoming good at anything in life - to be passionate about it.
Well, that's all the advice I got for you all. Best of luck to my fellow poets, writers, and readers out there!
- Gothic Rain
P.S. There is one more thing I can advise to anyone interested in writing poems actually. It applies to writing lyrics as well if anyone is a songwriter here too. Basically, be true to yourself. Cast away your ignorance, the lies you've trained yourself to believe, your biased perception - everything that isn't true to who you are. In other words, you have to be raw. Raw is translated nowadays as "deep" because you're holding nothing back. You know who you are, how you got that way, and perhaps even what you want to become. That's where you have to be to write poetry. To write the lyrics that resonate with people. The key is honesty ;)