"ARE YOU WORRIED
Are you worried you're not like everyone else?
Your worries will only worsen
When you find that the path to conformity
Is different for every person."
I could go on and on sharing these poems of young love and loss. Do you have a teenager or remember being one? They feel everything, and more strongly than at any other time in their lives, don't they? It is a long way back for me, but I have very strong recollections of some of those heartwrenching and buoyant events that were part of my teenage years. I admit there are not many that I recall although I am sure that, at the time, I felt I would remember them forever. In some ways, I guess they helped determine the person I am today, as life's events tend to do.
JoArno Lawson is able to bring the feelings of the teenage 'couple' front and center in this collection of quatrain poetry that should be required reading for each of those teenagers who feel loved, confused, invincible, idealistic, depressed, and even sure of their place in the world...on occasion. His poems are gently and simply shared...no yelling, no frenetic energy, no accusation.
The pen and ink illustrations perfectly match the poems...revealing the couple as they deal with the relationship that is theirs with all of its highs and lows. I promise that you won't be able to read these poems 'once', they are guaranteed to make you 'think again', as promised. If you want teenagers to 'get' poetry, this is a just-right' volume for starting the journey.
And finally,
"THE HEART
Make sure that your heart
Isn't too well defended:
Your heart is designed
To be broken and mended."
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