Serenem• Show poetry

.



Hello!


I was born a Jersey Girl on an extremely rainy Saturday in the spring of 1958. Now, you see, most people think of the ‘Garden State’ as a suburban outcropping of NYC, the place where the ‘Family’ gets rid of their most annoying little problems, but I was a rural Jersey girl growing up in the midst of large horse farms, lush woods and open fields. I was an award-winning artist and a horse lover from early on; they were my two most favorite things. I didn’t start writing until high school; mostly short stories--mostly science fiction. I was totally smitten with outer space and the idea of traveling to distant stars. When I discovered that I most likely wouldn’t become the next Captain of the Enterprise, I decided to go to college and get a BA in art which left me eminently qualified for my next fifteen years in retail management.

   In the spring of 1987, a mysterious voice from the southern realms beckoned me, telling me that it was time to stop playing around and get on with my real life. I landed in south central North Carolina, where a few months later,  I met my once and future love, Alan, with my left arm up to my elbow in a giant pickle jar.

(but wait, that’s a whole ‘nother story!)  

Well, since he loved my pickles, we eventually married and I gave birth to the most beautiful little girl you ever laid eyes on, by the name of Seren Adele.

   Well, the years passed, I worked as successful freelance artist; specializing in equine portraiture, my husband became a strong, able carpenter and my now teenage daughter became a lovely, talented musician. Then, one day, after a terribly violent thunderstorm, I saw a Blackbird taking a joyful bath in a puddle of rainwater, and it inspired a poem. ( yeah, yeah, I know-- it sounds sappy, but it wasn't. It was meaningful!! ~smile~) Just like that! I was lost in words again!

(Okay, now, prepare yourselves for the bragging portion of this bio-- sorry!)

   Since that fortuitous moment, my poems have received recognition in the annual ‘Fields of Earth’ poetry competition, sponsored by Writer’s Ink of Fayetteville, NC, as a multiple winner in  2001, 2002 and 2003. My writings have also been published in Skyline Literary Magazine out of New York state and is on permanent display in the New York Public Library. I've been fortunate to have twice won top recognition in the NC Weymouth Writer’s Competiton (2003 and 2004) and have been published in their annual anthology. I’ve experienced both fun and frustration moderating several poetry sites and have been honored to win several online poetry competitions and to have been the featured poet on a few poetry websites and e-zines.

(Okay, shameless bragging over-- Pheeew!)



I have always tried to use my poetry to requalify the negatives around me and turn them into positives. This never came more in need than when, in 2002, my beautiful, certified genius and talented violinist daughter fell into a terrible clinical depression that led her to an attempt to take her own life at the tender age of thirteen. Thirteen years old and she wanted to die. It was the single most horrifying moment of my life, and I assure you, I've had more than my fair share of those. Fortunately, she was spectacularly unsuccessful. She has since entered therapy and is emerging from the darkness. It hasn't always been easy; there have been many challenges, steps forward and back, but, she is a worthy and an incredibly tenacious fighter. She astounds me each and every single day. Because of this, much of my recent work deals with the subject of depression from a mother’s perspective of loving a child through this terrible experience.

  I have discovered that life is a series of dualities...wherever there is darkness, there is always an equal or even greater light. The outcome largely depends on the choices one makes. I do hope that I am able to inspire and encourage others through their trials and celebrate with them in their times of hope and joy. If I have helped just one individual with something that I have said, something that I have painted or written, and if I can say that I have a just a few true friends, If I have a happy, satisfied husband, who treats me as a loving and equal partner and friend as we help develop the mind of an amazingly worthwhile human being, then I will be Blessed with a fullfilled and successful life.

MKL~Serenem


'I watch, in awe, her effortless flight,
her ease of transition
and desire hollow boned wings
so that I might stuff them full of hope
and made buoyant,
defy the gravity of my heart.'

~excerpt from Pelican Flight~ MKL


I'm a Starsailor lost...