Poems For My People

This is a collection of poetry I wrote primarily in a live setting whilst doing typewriter poetry busking in public. Every poem is written for a specific individual as requested by the recipient of the poem. Some poems were written as gifts requested for a loved one.Dear wonderful reader,It’s Labor Day Weekend as I await my next request for a poem from my table at one of my favorite places to write poetry: Woodlore Cider in Brainerd, Minnesota. As I contemplate you who will read this in the future, I plonk ginormous, juicy blackberries, one-at-a-time in my mouth. It’s hot outside, cooler inside, and I’m grateful.I’m grateful for the hours of privilege I have had to write 100 individuals poems in this orange portion of the rainbow of poetry, I’m creating, Poems For My People: Community, Volume 2. From my typewriter perspective, I witness life unfolding and memories weaving. Families gather, reuniting from homes across the state to spend time at the lake. Friends mingle, competing at board games, card games, silliness, and celebrations. Individuals savor moments of alone time, breaking from the 9-to-5 weekday mundane.As I observed spaces like this from December 2022 through June 2023 to collect this book of 100 poems, my heart continues to be full. I carry such gratitude for the opportunities to write a poem for each of these 100 people. Each poem in this collection is a record of a sacred moment we shared. I always look the recipient in the eye after I read to them and I say, 'Thank you for letting me write you a poem.' And, I always mean it.In these pages you’ll find moments of grief and pain, glimpses of joy shared, whispers of hope for the future, powerful declarations to persevere, and even giggles of nonsense and silliness that offer the full spectrum of human emotion. And as I sit here, grateful and grinning as I write to you, my reader, I’m humbled, honored, privileged to have the opportunity to carry emotion in this poetry container.I hope and pray this collection of poems for my people is at least a fraction of the gift to you to read and experience, as it has been for me to create the offering of Beauty for each of these 100 fearfully and wonderfully created humans.You are so loved.Happy reading! MollySaturday 2 September 2023