NBTM & #Giveaway: Poetry from My Heart: A Journey Through Feelings by Paul Guerin
@Archaeolibrary, @GoddessFish,
Poetry: writing that formulates a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience, in language chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional response through meaning, sound, and rhythm.
Poetry means different things to different people. For me, it is all about feelings. If it captures the emotions of the reader, a poem will resonate and fill the soul. It can mean everything to one person and not much at all to another. The mood of the reader and no-one else determines the outcome.
For example, love poems are wonderful when you are in love and their passion is amazing. If you are facing adversity, however, love poems likely will just annoy or even anger you.
In "Poetry from my Heart", I have attempted to divide the poems into categories which will fit your mood no matter what you are experiencing at the time you choose to explore them. There should be something for everyone, no matter whether you are in love, out of love, you hurt, you are lonely, angry, abandoned, or you are facing other challenges in your life.
Poetry has a healing power that nurtures the soul and quietens the mind, and so I hope that whatever your situation is in life, you will find something here that helps you safely on your journey.
Add to Goodreads | Smashbomb
Like Eagles soar
You inspire my soul to reach the highest peaks
You light up the world I live in
With light so bright it dazzles and shines
Until all that is impossible becomes real
And the things I do are easier now because your love
Has made me strong and willing to risk
That which before I would have left untouched
And the results are amazing and stunning
I stand in awe and I laugh at myself
For ever doubting that I could not reach
For the highest peak and touch the stars
And find the apex of my soul
You have inspired the very best in me
To reach and seek my authentic self
To take a stand for what I believe in
To have the courage to trust in myself
And to believe that my dreams can come true
You have shown me how to fly with you
And to join with you with wings spread wide
Soaring into the sunset to meet the new dawn.
Can you tell us a little about yourself? “I was Irish, young and bold and there was nothing I couldn’t do and now I’m wiser and old, I know that wasn’t true …..” I was born in a small townland village in County Cork. Eire. As a young urchin, I loved the Irish countryside and became enchanted by the magic of the people and the land. As a young adult, I lived in London, England where I practiced as a chartered accountant. Later, I moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada where I live today. I am married with four children and four wonderful grandchildren.
What do you do when you’re not writing? I spend as much time as I can with my grandchildren at their soccer, lacrosse and other events. I enjoy fishing and boating and time at the lake close to nature. I frequent the gym and I am committed to regular exercise. I meditate and I enjoy as much quiet and solitude as I can grab. During these quiet times, I write poetry.
Do you have a day job as well?
Yes, I am a business consultant. I am fortunate to have a flexible work environment. At this point in my life, I am able to work by choice and not by necessity. I am grateful for this privilege.
What were your favourite books as a child?
I had lots of favourites. I recall Kenneth Grahame’s Wind in the Willows, Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, John Wyndam’s Day of the Triffids and Midwich Cuckoos and Neville Shute’s On the Beach and A town like Alice to name a few. All great reads for a kid with a big imagination! When did you realize being an author was no longer just a dream?
I came out of the literary closet just recently. Deciding to “let the inner poet emerge” wasn’t easy. It took courage to write about my innermost thoughts and feelings and share those secrets with the world at large. Once I had made the decision to come clean and share the real me, I felt a new freedom!
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
I will continue writing and my plan is to publish a few more poetry books. My heart is willing and hopefully, my mind and body will follow!
Tell us about your current book.
In March this year, I published Book 1 of A Willing Heart Series. It is entitled Poetry from My Heart – A Journey through Feelings. The poems capture the emotions and feelings arising from my life experiences which I call “designer moments”. My hope is that the poems will resonate with and bring comfort to readers who face similar challenges and experiences. The title of the book is descriptive -there is a good mixture of poems about love, adversity, solitude, hope and inspiration. All written honestly from my heart!
Are there any particular authors that influenced you?
I was influenced by a number of authors, many of them classical writers like Oscar Wilde, Charles Dickens, James Joyce and Edgar Allan Poe. Poets like Wordsworth, Coleridge, Keats, Shelley and Shakespeare also influenced my desire to write. Reading those authors sparked my imagination and my love of writing.
Is your book based on real-life experiences or imagination?
A big YES to this question! All of the poems in my book are based on my personal experiences which I lovingly call “designer moments”. All the ups and downs are stepping stones to a higher understanding.
How did you come up with the title?
The title of the book is aptly named - the poems are from my heart – up close and personal! Do you have any advice to give to aspiring writers?
Yes for sure! My advice is to let your inner author emerge and enjoy the marvelous freedom that follows! It’s a personal journey and only you can do it. So, don’t delay - step out into the adventure!
How would you change the world?
My wish today is for a sea-change in the currently pervading attitude of entitlement which exists in our society. wrote a poem about it in my new book - here is a short excerpt:
These days we expect way too much Without effort to succeed We think that everything we touch Will give us what we need
A big thank you!
Thank you for inviting me to share in your blog!I hope you enjoy my book. You can find it at www.paulguerinpoems.com
Warm wishes,
Paul Guerin
Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found HERE
As a very young boy, I lived in a small Irish townland village called Castletownroche. The village was situated in the very beautiful and pastoral County Cork. I had an Irish uncle who played in a showband and who taught me to fish at age four. I wrote a poem about that. My mother was absent and I never knew my father. I wrote another poem about that. We lived in abject poverty. I survived by the grace and loving kindness of an old Irish grandmother sporting a black dress, black shawl and a wicked temper driving a razor-sharp tongue. I called her Nana.
Nana taught me to fear her retribution and used it to keep me safe and provide security that I could find nowhere else. Well into my teens, my inner world was cast in fear and I had no real sense of belonging or attachment to anyone or to anything. The inability to handle those feelings eventually led me to substance abuse. My journey along that road has generated much of the poetry of adversity, hope, and inspiration that you will find in this book. I truly hope that those poems in particular will salve the souls of those of you who are still trudging that happy road to destiny on your way back from hell.
Not surprisingly, I have had difficulty in maintaining healthy relationships throughout my life, and much of the love poetry is about those failures and many, many, sorry attempts to return to love. Those painful/happy experiences had a major influence on my writing.
Connect with Paul Guerin
WEBSITE https://paulguerinpoems.com/
FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/paulguerinpoems
GOODREADS https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60876796-poetry-from-my-heart
Tour hosted by: Goddess Fish Promotions
