Living with Artism

Poetry, for me, started as a means of expressing emotions I was incapable of dealing with. Near the end of my Marine Corps career, my head and my heart were like a melting snow cone void of flavor but still dripping red. All emotion had become the same feeling to me. I was numb to the world. Then I attempted to record a feeling with words. I started writing. Ever since that life-altering moment, I have been living with artism, which I define as the fine line between intellect and insanity. Through writing, I began separating those pieces of ice that had become my existence and realized that each piece, even the melting ones, were unique and had purpose. I saw the beauty formed by my life experiences, the beauty that made me. These pages contain the best words I could find to express what I have felt: life and love and a few short stories for good measure.