Cost of War

     I served in our military for 20 years, seeing many countries and learning of new cultures. I have so many fond memories of these new places. Unfortunately in my travels, I had to go to countries that we were at war with. Seeing up close and personal, the horrific events takes a major toll on the men and women who go through them. After I returned from Afghanistan, I struggled with dark thoughts, anger, an much more. I would relieve the sights and sounds from Afghanistan on a daily basis. It was more than a year after returning, before I began to write poems about my experiences while at war. Once I began to write, I began to notice my mood gradually improving. I still had my rough patches, but writing down my feelings helped immensely. I put one of my poems on this blog so you could hopefully get a better idea of the cost of war on our men and women.

Tears from a Soldier

The scenery has changed in both the mind and body.

The cruelty in what I have done, stays with me.

The memories play inside my head like a movie

Reminding me of things better left in the past

Unable to stop the war that I desperately want to forget

Deeper and deeper I sink

Images of the cruelty attack my mind, body, and soul

I came home to family and friends

Smiles, laughter, and tears flowed freely

They laugh and cry out of happiness

I laugh and cry from all that has been lost. 

The smile on my face is often just for show

Comforting my family and friends. 

While the war rages on, not with the enemy, but myself.

Anger, sadness, anxiety, and depression assault me daily

Why can’t I beat this? What is wrong with me?

I want to live again, not just exist.

The violence has taken so much from me

I long for the day there are no more tears from a Soldier.

Fall

I have always been infatuated with the season, fall. Growing up in West Virginia was truly a blessing all year long. But, once October began to sneak up on everyone we knew it was only a matter of time before the show would begin. As a little kid, then a young man, I spent many, many days in my beloved hill of West Virginia just having the time of my life. I would climb trees, play in the creeks, and at times just sit there and look at all the beauty. Once the weather began to turn colder, I knew that the leaves would begin to change soon. There is something about the woods once the leaves had changed back home that to this day makes me smile. Everything changed in the woods, the beautiful foliage, the sounds, and the amazing smell of the woods. Every year since leaving West Virginia to join the military, I get a little more homesick when I see the leaves of fall wherever I may be.  

Welcome Friend

Gently she arrives, warning all of what is to come.

Days begin to shorten, nights grow too long.

The mighty trees change their colors, too match the rainbow.

Slowly, the leaves of summer begin their journey to the ground.

People dress warmer, sipping on their warm drinks.

Fall is here, helping us transition from summer to winter.

I love this time of year, with the sights, smells and laughter.

                                                                                                                                                    

A Chance to Heal

     I would like to sit here as I write this and tell you that poetry is always full of butterflies and the laughter of babies. But, poetry is in essence, life. We all know that life is not always filled with laughter and smiles, there is more than enough times that are dark, filled with sadness and pain.
     This is where the true beauty of poetry, whether written or read, it reveals its amazing ability to begin the healing process.  For me, I can tell you beyond the shadow of a doubt that poetry was the unexpected avenue that I stumbled upon while dealing with some of my life's most painful moments. I was able to sit down in front of my computer and allow all the emotions and pain to run down from my mind and heart and settle on the screen that sat before me. Being able to read your raw, powerful emotions as they appear on the computer screen was, is a powerful healing tool. Being able to read my thoughts and feelings made breaking down the words so much easier. Chasing the words around inside my head was all but impossible. It only added to the stress and strain that I was already dealing with.
     The vast majority of my earlier poems were all about sadness, loneliness, and pain. Eventually, I was able to get back to a place in my life that had happiness and joy in it. It was then that I began to write poems that were far more cheerful. The poem that I have attached for you all today, is one of my personal favorites. You can see the progression throughout the poem of my growth if you will.
     One of the most important lessons that I have learned throughout the years when it comes to poetry is whether it is a saddened time, or a joyous time, this is the time to write! Happiness should be exalted to the masses, pain and sadness is your personal healing tool. I write for myself, and if I feel led to share  a poem of mine, I shall. Write for yourself, follow your heart and you will be fine.

My Soul Speaks

I was in a dark place, a prisoner of solitude.

Alone on an island of confusion and doubt.

Lost for years, living in exile.

Awakened after years of slumber

Drawing new breath, beginning a new journey

I am stronger now, I know who I am

Reaching for new horizons, grabbing hold of newfound dreams

From the ashes of a broken life, I rise to a new world

Now my tears fall not out of sorrow, but out of thankfulness

Life’s colors are bright and vivid, bursting with the promise of a new tomorrow

Guiding the lost and the rejected to a place of rebirth

Centered, focused, and hungry for life

I accept what has happened and realize that life is not always fair

My heart smiles, bursting with anticipation

Open to the thought, the dream of falling yet again.

      Darin S. Boggs

Write From The Heart

  

This week on Painting with words, I would like to briefly talk to you about "Exploring the healing power of writing poetry" as the subtitle of my blog states. There have been hundreds of articles written by medical professionals, professional poets, and your average Joe on just how much of a positive result reading and writing poetry has upon us. As I was reading through articles on the positive results that researches have found on poetry and the human body, I found many things truly amazing. Such as, did you know that reading poetry and listening to music produce very similar results on the mind and body? Some therapists, believe that poetry is a highly effective tool in helping patients to cope with and overcome mental illness. I personally know just how strong the impact of writing poetry is, my life was bombarded with a series of life altering, painful, and heartbreaking events that simply overloaded my mind and sent me in to a dark, lonely and scary place. For reasons that I still am not sure of, I began simply writing things down as a way of dealing with my dwindling hope of ever being happy again. I guess it was just a instinctual thing that my mind and body did in order to try and save me from going to the point of no return. I have no fancy degree, no published books of poetry, but I have my heart, my soul, and an undying connection to just how powerful writing poetry is. Please do not hesitate, do not intimidated by the thought of writing poetry. Write for you, write for you soul. If you are happy with the final product, then you my friend have achieved your goal. Congratulations! 

Quality over Quantity

     In this post "Quality over Quantity", I wanted to try writing in the ancient form of poetry known as Haiku.  Haiku has been dated back as far as the seventh century. The thing that drew me to this style so early on in my challenge was its simplicity. Don't get me wrong, I didn't choose it because it was easy, far from it. Maybe once I give you the definition of what a haiku is, you will have a better understanding. A haiku poem consist of only three lines, but they are bound by a strict format. I feel that it is this simple, yet strict format that truly reveals its beauty which is revealed upon the completion of your haiku poem. The simplicity of a haiku's poem reveals an often times deep, or symbolic message. The three lines must contain in this order five syllables, seven syllables, and five syllables. It sounds easy, right? Two bits of information have stuck with me, concerning how to write a haiku. First thing is "try not to overthink it", and the second is "simple words are the key to expressing complex ideas." A haiku poem usually references nature, or the natural world. Based around your surroundings draws you the writer closer to your surrounding.  I have attached a haiku that I wrote specifically for my blog. I hope you enjoy.

                                                               
                                                                    Movement

                                                          The stream flows freely
                                                          Within its mighty shorelines
                                                          Onward on its quest.Haiku

The Next Door

     Hello Everyone, I have decided to open a new door in my life, the door to becoming a better poet. I have decided to challenge myself to delve into completely foreign styles and formats in the world of poetry in order to grow not only as a poet, but also as a person.  My first memory of writing poetry came to me as the result of horrific accident. Many lives were lost on that fateful day, leaving behind the survivors including myself to try and make sense of all that had happened.  One day while sitting around feeling numb and confused, I picked up a pen and paper and started writing anything and everything that I was feeling about the accident. I had no real course in mind, only to simply get everything out of me and onto the paper. When I finished writing, I had written my first poem "The Ten Who Were Taken." I still felt sad over the loss of these brave men, but by getting the emotions out of my mind and on to a piece of paper, I was able to begin the healing process and resume living a happier life. It was then that I knew there are healing power in the use of words, whether they are written or spoken.