Rearranging the Bricks: Poems

During my three years at the University of Mississippi I have confirmed what I had initially decided upon in my last year of high school. I want to be a writer. For the past few years I have taken several baby steps toward this goal, but this thesis has been my first true stride. In writing the poems that appear in this thesis I was required to compose first drafts and discuss them with my thesis advisor, Beth Ann Fennelly, who made several critiques and pointed out to me my most common problems. One of her biggest concerns was that I used too many metaphors, and as a result my poems were often confusing and unclear. So then I revised many of them, tT3dng to keep in mind her comments. Still, most of the second drafts needed much work as well. I underwent a long process of revision in which, occasionally, I would all but rewrite a poem. Other times I would take an image fi*om a poem that was not working and insert it into another. The end result, I believe, is superior to anything I have ever written in terms of poetry, and although many of them are still not in their ultimate forms I am very happy with the way they have turned out. Through the process of writing my thesis I have learned how to better read my own poems, and I think I am a better writer of poetry. This was my only goal, and I consider this project a success, but the past few months have only been the first stride in a marathon I hope to run for the rest of my life. Now I know a little of what is to be expected