My first forays into creative writing were as an angsty teenager, when I discovered poetry and lyric writing as a valuable release for the pent up emotion, frustration and confusion that my fourteen-year-old self was muddling through. I’ve always been very private with the writing I did during those times, but recently reread some of those old pieces and thought they deserved to be shared. So I’ve decided to periodically post some here on the blog, under the Stanzas label, along with the backstory that inspired them. I’m starting with one that’s very personal to me. I wrote it in 1997, when I was seventeen, and it perfectly describes where I was at that time in my life. It’s called Armored.

 

While I haven't added to it in years, I've kept all these pieces compiled under the title Unarmored, in reference to this piece and the fact that, as a whole, they lay bare who I really am/was/will be. Reading this one now, at 34, I can honestly say that life is better without so much armor. I hope you liked this. More to come…