Antuanette

I will just post this for now. Antuanette is about 16. She lives in Lima, Peru.

A letter from Antuanette

Date: Sat, 04 Mar 2006

hey,

what's up? hope everything's good with you.

So, i wrote this like a year ago, but it's my first poem in english
and since I only got "ohh it's good!" reviews from my friends I
could really use constructive criticism or something to know if i'm
actually good at it or suck. If you're too busy it's okay, you
don't have to read it.

Anyways, here it is. one more thing, when i wrote it i was feeling rather bad, but i
guess i'm better now.

Untitled

I'm so stupid,

I don't know what to do

I wish everything was over now

So I could move on

But I'm trapped

And I'm afraid I'll never escape

Trapped in this life forever

Until the day I'll finally be dead

That rings a bell on me,

What would happen if I die?

Would anybody notice?

Would anybody care?

Or would they just remember me

As a simple girl who just killed herself?

That was it, thanks for reading.

Antuanette

My reply

hey atn

is it ok if i call u that? antuanette is too long to type!

anyhow, i see what u mean about the reaction of ur friends... ur poem is about u, obviously, about how u really feel, but they missed the point.

the points not whether ur poem is good or bad. the point is ur feelings and your thoughts.

u feel unimportant sometimes, not cared about sometimes. and u think "would anyone miss me? would they care, would they cry?"

i have these feelings and these thoughts too.

to be a poet, if that is a goal, or to be a writer, if that is, then for me at least, it means writing from your heart, not worrying about whether things are good or bad according to others opinions.

schools and parents teach us to be looking for approval and afraid of their disapproval. this is deadly to our hearts, souls, spirits and creativity. it kills our inner beauty.

i am hoping you wrote these words because they reflected ur feelings and thoughts at the time, not to impress anyone. if you want to impress me though, then write what you really feel and believe. then i will be impressed and will admire you for your courage. it doesnt take courage to obey others or seek approval. it takes courage to follow your heart.

can you do me a favor and translate what you wrote to spanish for laura? id like her to read it. id like the two of you to talk more.

and could you translate what i just wrote to you? id like to put it and your poem on both my english and spanish sites.

hugs

and id miss you if you died or killed yourself. i know we have never met, but if i knew that you had died or killed yourself, id cry. i can cry at just the thought of someone killing themselves. your poem really touched me and im having to struggle to not cry now.

thanks for trusting me with this.

steve