When I first began writing poetry
it was like a light had been switch on...
when I first began writing poetry
it was at the same time that I fell in love...
when I first began writing poetry
it was like walking outdoors
and feeling the touch of the sun...
when I first began writing poetry
it was like I already knew that I was
a poet for life and not just for the moment.

Some things you think you
know for sure and forever -
but then they change...
some people you think you know
as well as you know your own face -
but then they take a hard left
down an unexpected alley...
some things look perfect 
with the right lighting -
but their flaws become apparent
when seen in the light of day...
some people look idealistic from far away -
but up-close everybody's cracks are exposed
like the shadows of monuments in a valley.

I didn't know what was inside of me
until I found the right person
with the right key to unlock
the door of my library of internal poetry...
I didn't know what would happen
after I started walking down this road
that I have been on now for years -
but I knew that would never be truly alone
and that there would always be
something and someone with me...
I didn't know what it meant
to have been found until I felt my eyes,
my mind, my heart, my ears, my soul
open wide and never want
to miss a thing about anything
and everything ever again...
I didn't know what lay beyond the horizon,
in outer space, or in the dark,
until I saw that there is always
a way and a gift for me to turn to
and to turn on whenever I want to
like a switch.