Interviewed by Kern Poetry

For the past few months, I have been logging in for a Zoom open mic night for Kern County Poets. They graciously invited to interview me for their most recent Kern Poets update. 

My interview is the last one, and you can find it Here.

If you'd rather not scroll through all of it, here is just my section: 

Interview with Sandra Rose Hughes, First Friday Zoom Open Mic, January 7, 2022

by Carla Joy Martin

Sandra shared this thoughtful poem with us that evening:

Write Your Way Home

by Sandra Rose Hughes

Something bad has happened to you.
The lid to your green-grass world has been torn off.
Being Snow White doesn’t work anymore.
You can’t just “sweet attitude” and “can-do” spirit your way out of this.

Was it your fault or was it theirs?
Where did you go so wrong?
You are lost, lost in the woods, with no Prince Charming in sight,
Though there are plenty of wolves.

How do you find your way back home?
After the bad thing, the thing that wasn’t supposed to happen, at least not to you, did?
As you wander, you ponder, and you tell yourself
Your story over and over again.

Sometimes people will listen. Often they will not.

Sometimes their flippancy or blame is a new wound to be healed.

You find a journal, and a pen.
You dip the pen in blood for ink, and use your tears to thin it.

The blood-letting helps.
Writing the story over and over and over and over and over and over again helps.
Until one day, you don’t have to write your story anymore.
You close the journal and cap the pen.
Because you find yourself out of the woods, back at home in yourself.

 

Q.  What inspired you to write your poem?  What is its back story?  

A.  The Poem, “Write your Way Home” was inspired by multiple life events in my
twenties where I often found myself wounded by the reality of the fallen world where we
live. God used poetry to help me heal from my first encounters with death,
disillusionment and the many conflicts surrounding marriage, relationships, and adulting. The message of the poem is essentially, “Write it down. Writing the pain helps.”  

Q. Do you like to read poetry?  If you do, what poets have influenced you?  Who have messages you connect with, or styles you admire?

A.  I love to read poetry, though I sometimes struggle to quiet my mind to truly
appreciate it. My love of poetry started with Jack Prelutsky in grade school, and has since
extended to Robert W. Service, T.S. Eliot, and many more. I love rhyming poetry,
messages of faith and redemption, relatable poetry, snarky poetry that expresses attitude
and irritation, and poetry that makes me laugh.

Q. What advice would you give to other folks wanting to create poems?  How do you make a poem?  Do you have a special place you go to, or music you listen to, etc.?  Give us a glimpse into your creative process.

 A.  I believe poetry is good for the soul and a gift from God for all humans, even if
English wasn’t your strongest class in school. For those wanting to write poetry, my
advice would be: read poetry, then write poems in response. When I create a poem, it is
usually in response to the season of life I am in and lessons God is teaching me. Poetry is
a fantastic way to deal with grief. Some people play music or talk when they grieve. I
write.
I try to spend 5-10 minutes a day writing and don’t put any pressure on myself to make it
“good.” I love to write long hand on a big yellow legal pad. Sometimes they turn out
well- most of the time they don’t; I have many failed poems. I try not to worry about
those; I will just write a new one tomorrow and trust in the process of poetry. Online
workshops and the input and feedback of other writers is also truly helpful. We live in a
great time for writers- help and support is only a zoom meeting away.