Photo by Christian Apostol Share on Facebook Share on Twitter In 1999, United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) incepted March 21 as “World Poetry Day.” Although World Poetry Month is in April, UNESCO declared the date as an individual celebration. Through this, UNESCO aims to recognize and appreciate literature’s versatile form. As it varies in the topic covered, literature also takes on different faces and figures. For World Poetry Day 2018, I’ll be sharing the story of how I’ve become a poet. In 2015, I started writing poetry. It was an accidental discovery. Although I wrote at the time, the world of literature was an unknown realm of possibilities. I’m 16 years late, but I could say that poetry saved me. World Poetry Day 2018: Turning Point Photo by Christian Apostol Turning 18 years old was a weird experience. For me, the world changed right after my birthday. It’s not the same skies or the same roads I took. The only reason I got into poetry is that I tried forgetting a person through it. Yes, it’s lame. Now that I look back too it, I find it funny that the only option I had at that time was poetry. It served as my outlet. To forget a person means to get busy at something. I would write at least a poem a day. That prevents me from talking to this person in the hopes of getting the same level of love back. Of course, I wrote about how my heart was breaking and other similar themes. It was fun! Writing these poems contained the tears that my eyes would’ve dropped. Photo by Christian Apostol Smoking was your way of getting rid of stress. An asthmatic little boy resides in my body. The irony is that I was willing to be beside you while you smoke your stick. It doesn’t make me breathe well. For a few minutes, my lungs try to escape from my chest. The same way that you would make my heart break my ribs when I see you. If there is something that I learned with doing poetry on heartbreak is that it lets you write the best things. It’s almost a blessing sometimes. But when your hand moves to write the words in your mind is something that still gets me excited. There is nothing that would amount to writing about something I experienced. Another added value is the response you get from sharing it with people who appreciate it. Photo by Christian Apostol On my third year of writing poetry, I’ve come to realize that there are more beautiful things than love and heartbreak. There’s politics, abuse, struggles, and knowing yourself. To the person who broke me, thank you. If not for you, I was not able to realize my worth. A big part of this discovery is because of you. I hope you’re happy with who you’re with right now. It’s not about how long your piece is. Also not about how you express the complexities of your work. But rather how you get the message across. To someone who’s wanting to start writing but never did, start today. March 21 is World Poetry Day for a reason. Use it for good. Facebook Comments
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