Between the Lines of Life

Abstract

As a prospective English teacher, I worked to create a project that encourages my readers to speak their truth. Teachers, like poetry, awaken their students to vital lessons. It is my hope that these poems will help readers develop their powerful voices. Similar to a teacher, I want to instill confidence and inspiration in my readers. However, there exists a thin line between lecturing your readers on what they “should” think or feel and allowing readers to develop their own experiences and understandings of the content you are providing within your poems. With this in mind, I set out to create a collection of poetry that guides readers towards establishing an understanding of my poems yet does not instruct them how to digest any singular one. Again, the theme of this collection is authenticity; I hope that each and every reader will experience their own unique emotions and ideas. What better way to accomplish this than writing poetry? I sincerely hope that my readers develop their voice, remain unwavering in their confidence and courage, and understand that the ability to be vulnerable is one of the most useful skills humans can develop. The purpose of the following collection of original poems (titled “Between the Lines of Life”) is to empower my readers; my poems will allow my readers to see the value in authenticity and encourage readers to tap into their most authentic selves. This collection of poetry was a rigorous challenge, but one that I was determined to accomplish.