Skies The Limit
A poet,must also go beyond himself,a poet should also
allow an older life to exult in itself and always keep in open
mind of "the new" I am inspired by those before me,who have
written poetry or spoke with wisdom,knowledge and understanding
of life and with the struggles they had before them,they still had
the strength and beliefs in themselves that enabled them to rise
at the lowest point in their lives.I was born in 1969,April 20,i am
one of ten children who was raised by two strong and wise people,
my parents are my role models and my inspiration,my dad died
at the age of 89 a few years ago and he had taught me to be a strong
black man and to always know who i was and where i came from
and that education was the key to everything,he really believed
in that,he used to say that"life is what you make of it and the person
that you become is in your hands" being born in 1911,he has been
through alot in his life and saw more than history books can print
so i have heard alot about myself and my people from a man who
lived it.My mom is still with me and her wisdom continues,i learn
something from her every time she speaks and she is as strong as ever
she has given me the strength,motivation and courage to write without
fear,always positive,until you push the wrong button,but she is full of
advice and very knowledgeable,she has raised ten children and grandchildren
sometimes kids in the neighborhood look at her as a mother figure,she's no
doubt a very special woman.Living in Hartford ,Connecticut all of my life,
i have experienced alot in my life,being in the inner city,hasn't been easy
for me in my adult life,seeing childhood friends die and losing two of
my sisters and a nephew and like anyone else in life,i have Had personal
problems of my own,nothing major but enough to stress me,so i have more
than enough to write about.I have other talents but when i was in grade
school and my English teacher ask the class to write something that meant
alot to us,i wrote something called "Back in the Day" i put it in a poetry
form and she loved it,so much that she enter my poem in the school
writing contest and for my luck,it got first place,i was real confident
about school itself,let alone my writing skills,i was always praised about my
athletic skills,never about school work,so i never stopped writing
but i never took poetry serious,i just didn't respect it or appreciate it
like i do today,after reading to name a few "Maya Angelo,Kamau Brathwaite,
Langston Hughes among other great poets,i suddenly had a vision and it
was then i ask God to guide me and now i am blessed to write within
my "whispering mind" and now my daughters Chyna and Diamond and son Devon
can have something to reflect on....
Preston Ryan
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