100 poems

For many years now, one of my new year goals has been to write 100 poems. Usually I get to 70 or 80, but I can never seem to hit a hundred. This year, though, I did.

I realized in the fall that if I wrote a certain amount of poems each month, I'd easily hit a hundred. I think the reason I was able to do it so easily this year was because I kept writing in the summer, which is usually when I slack off the most. I wrote 10 poems in both July and August, instead of a normal three or four. 

And last night I wrote my 100th poem! It's not the best, but I'm posting it anyway.

Poems can capture many things,

but some things they can't touch.

There is no way to sum up

these past days, no words

will bring back floods of memories

like hearing Falling Slowly--

nothing can bring smiles like

silly faces, grinning, laughter--

and no written scene can conjure up

the peace of reading in cafes

with lovely, lovely sisters.

In other news, The Hobbit was good, and Les Miserables (which I went to see Christmas night with my sisters) was AMAZING. I loved it so much, and I want to see it again.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas!

Kelia

December Life

So, life. Colleges and nano have been taking up most of my time lately, with a little bit of school inbetween.

I completed NaNoWriMo on November 25th, which is the fastest I've ever done it! I've been editing a bit this month, and I might have people read it soon. I actually like my story this year, which is always a good thing. Now I have to see if other people like it too. Nano was strangely easy for me this year, partly because I planned out my story a lot which helps, and partly because it was such a release for me. I'd been focusing so intensely on colleges that it was SO NICE to be able to think about something else. Colleges are so stressful, but I've sent in my CD to all the ones that need it. I've applied to six colleges between this month and last, and I might apply to two more, or I might not. Applying is so expensive! There's a fee for auditioning as well as applying, so for me it's twice what it would be for normal applicants. But oh well. I don't find out till January where I'm invited to audition, and then auditioning is mostly in February, and then I find out where I got in in April. So far away, but at least the first step is done.

And Christmas is so soon! We decorated the tree Sunday, made christmas cookies, and watched christmas movies. I've bought a few presents, but I really need to get more. Time is going way too fast. And for the most exciting news of all, I'm going to see The Hobbit tonight!!!
Kelia

SO SOON

November is almost here! Which means that NaNoWriMo is right around the corner (two and a half days away!), and I cannot believe it. As slow as things seem a lot of the time, these past two months have flown.

Nanowrimo is going to be insane this year. I don't have a ton of homework for my math class, and I'll only have to write one major essay for my English class, but I'm going to be recording my prescreening cds, doing a bunch of concerts, and sending in all my applications for 3 or 4 schools that have the December 1st deadline. And somehow I am going to fit in writing a novel too!

I have a plot that I'm very excited about, and I've been doing character planning, so I think I might be ready. I'm at least more prepared than I was two years ago, the year of the first-day-plot-switch. It'll be a rough adjustment into writing daily though since I haven't written anything but poems for months and months, so the beginning will probably be no good. I'll have to resist the urge to rewrite.

That said, I can't believe it'll be my last year in highschool, and maybe my last year doing nano for a while. I might attempt it in college but I don't know if I'll have time. So I'm doubly determined to squeeze it in this year, my eighth in a row!

Is anyone else attempting it this year?
Kelia

Two poems

Hello all! October has been going well. Every day is busy, but not too much. Highlights of this week include playing on a harpsichord for the first time (so strange!) and playing on a fortepiano that was built in 1806. It was rather incredible. Here are two poems, one written ten days ago which is just kind of fun, and one that I wrote 6 months ago and just rediscovered. I don't think I've posted it here - I didn't think much of it when I wrote it but I kind of love it now. And it pretty much perfectly sums up how I feel about my poems.

I hear November walking near
her black shoes tap like rattling trees
she's still across the street and I
can't feel the wind that tugs her hair.
Her dress is gray, that non-color
that takes the life straight out of things
her eyes, when she catches my gaze,
are dark as rotting leaves.
"Don't mind Nova," October says,
his fingers tightly wound through mine.
His smile's so infectious, I
forget November's there.

*

These words are a bridge

between my emotions

and understanding what

they actually mean - 

sometimes I make it

over the bridge, and the world

is brighter and clearer

than before - sometimes

the bridge is unfinished

I look at it and sigh

and just leave it alone - 

sometimes the bridge is 

falling to pieces

and I'm halfway across

as it breaks, then the world

reduces me to a

pancake of what I once was

(but each poem, in the end

is really a brick

and someday I will see

what it is (who it is) I'm building)

How has October been for you?

Kelia

September life

School has started, and while I'm not as busy as I thought I'd be, all my free time has been devoted to books, TV, or Tumblr. I feel bad for neglecting the blog!

I've also been trying to solidify my college list. I think I've gotten it down to a pretty good list of six (much better than 12!) though I'm still not sure about some of the ones I've cut out. It's stressful, but I feel better now than last week. I wish I could just pick one school and only apply to that one, but be absolutely certain it's the right choice. Not going to happen, but oh well. It's an adventure.

I'm taking two classes at a community college, which is interesting. I've had ten classes, and only one conversation with a classmate so far. (I understand the concept of starting a conversation, I just don't understand how to apply it in actual situations. How do people do it?)

And here's a random poem!

The sky was blue today
september-blue
with silver-white clouds
all puffed like risen bread
just hugging the horizon

I love staring up
at september skies
feeling like I could fall
up and up into the
dizzying deep blue -

I'd fall up and hit a cloud
it would rubberband me
back to earth to sit here
pen in hand, wishing that
I had kept falling


Kelia

Non-angsty poems

Yes, you read that right. The second half of august I've been writing some poems that are actually non-angsty! It's a miracle!

To wake up when I feel like it -
say ten of ten -
the sun and blue sky smiling on me,
the whole day stretching forward
and my dreams still lingering in my head -
to sleep and dream and be rested
is one of my most favorite things.

*

I love it when the moon is just
a bright flare in the inky trees
and all the sky is dusky grey
and swirled with clouds, and all I hear
is chirping bugs and the night air
is silky on my face and the
whole world is dark, much darker than
the sky

*

Last night I kept waking up
and wishing I could slide back into
dreams that mixed memories with wants
and people with imagined things -
for in my dreams there was the sun
and endless sky, the marshgrass and
the chin-high coolness of the sea -
but in my dreams,
I could swim
I swam across a river and I
never once looked down.


Kelia

August life

While I don't have any good poems to share, there are a couple of things I could talk about from this month. I've mostly been practicing piano, working, hanging out with some friends, and being on tumblr, but I've also been reading! I read three books last week, compared to one last month. I got a really good stash out from the library recently, and it's so lovely to curl up with a good book and just read.

The books I read were: 1. Black Heart by Holly Black, it's the third in a series and I've been waiting for it forever. This book was awesome, I love the main character and the plot was crazy as always. I read it in one day, as soon as I started it my day was just gone.

2. Looking for Alaska by John Green. Ever since buying The Fault in Our Stars in February (my first John Green read) I've been slowly working through his books, this is the third I've read. I love his writing so much.  His characters are always believable and have such unique voices, they really make his stories work. Also, I love the Colonel.

3. I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga. Oh, my goodness this book. Normally this wouldn't be the kind of book I'd get (it's about a 17 year old kid whose dad was a serial killer, and now years after his dad was put in jail, dead bodies start showing up in town again), but I'd heard such good things about it that I immediately picked it up, and I'm so glad I did. It's very dark obviously, Jasper thinks about death a lot and whether or not he's pre-destined to become a killer also. But the plot is fast paced and intriguing, his friends are awesome, and it's really well written. I kind of fell in love with this one.

4. And the only book I read last month was the long awaited Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore! I waited and waited for my library to get this book, but finally I just went and bought it. So glad I did, this is a beautiful book. Other than the writing, it has gorgeous illustrations each new section, which I adore. I was so happy to meet Bitterblue and get to spend more time with characters from her other books too.

That is it for my summer books. Any good books you've been reading, whoever reads this?
Kelia