???

{02.17.23}

i wrote once to make others happy

now i just write for myself

found everyone too hard to please

while i ran dry on the other side

no one was going to water me

might as well play the role no one wanted

but at least they were fortunate

to read my words and see my soul

....right?

Reviews

[Kane Hagwood]

This poem somehow reminds me of when I had a publicist. I would hand them manuscript after manuscript, but instead of wanting to build upon what I had, they would blow off the project, telling me "it wouldn't work" without much explanation. They themselves published a book, using their own company to leverage an audience. It.... was something, to say the least. I very much understand the frustration of writing to make others happy, only for it not to be enough.

When I started writing for myself, I feel like I grew the most as a writer. There's at the very least a million+ words (maybe 2 million?) of free-writing that was for my eyes only. It didn't matter how good it was. I wrote, because I enjoyed it, and it gave ME value.

Keep on writing, and I look forward to reading more of your work in the future :)

[Chops]

Right. Share your soul. There’s always someone who wants to see it. And you may touch others without knowing it. All you can do is offer it — put it out there. Like a message in a bottle cast out to sea.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

in the movie, Finding Forrester, William says something that makes perfect sense.
"Why is it the things we write for ourselves are so much better than the things we write for others?"
j.

[Writergurl]

WOW!! I love this write so much, so much truth here.

[John the Baptist]

Indeed, they were fortunate. Too often we sell our own lives short, when there may be something therein that might be of great value to another. So in writing for yourself, ironically, you may be engaging in an act of giving.

[Matthew Kult]

Our words open us up to others to see our inner selves. Our words open us up for criticism. Lovely read and write.

With love

Matthew