Becoming a poet…….

Four words that struck fear into my heart! Lesley Cresswell – local poet. I stood in front of an audience of about 40 people and when these words of introduction were spoken out loud I actually looked round to see who was being spoken about! Honestly, I did!

Although I have written poetry since my late teens I had never considered myself a ‘real’ poet. What makes a ‘real’ poet? To be introduced as such at the local village festival came as a bit of a shock – and with a heavy weight of responsibility that I was not sure that I deserved or could live up to. My writing is about me, personal stuff, the realities of life, love and loss, who would be interested in that? However, I’m assured by my fellow writers that self-doubt can be a constant bedfellow and is a way of not ‘getting above ourselves’. So, standing amongst the creative flower decorations, having made my way from the sumptuous tea tent and before the whole village created a ring of friendship around the church I found myself reading my own words to one of my first audiences.  The reception that I received was almost as surprising as hearing myself being called a poet!  My words had touched many people and there were several in tears.

During my life I have had the great good fortune to meet some amazing, supportive and developmental people without whom my life would have been very different. I have been encouraged to strive for things that I never thought possible and with support from family, friends and colleagues I have achieved things that I would never have imagined. My journey to publication of my first book of poems is no exception – without my fellow writers’ support it would never have come into being and would have remained a collection of scraps of paper in my filing cabinet.

And so – I have a lot to live up to. In my retirement years I imagined winding down gradually and taking things easy – instead my life seems to be getting busier and more and more exciting. I’m learning new skills whilst refining some old ones, I’m travelling which is inspiring further writing and I am enjoying the time and finding me – perhaps one day I might even get used to my newly acquired title of ‘local poet’! Who knows?

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Finding my smile……