POEMS From The Heart Of A Real Woman: “On Love”

B.H: First, how does it feel? I know that you said you procrastinated for years while working on this book. 

R.H: It feels motivating that I finally launched my book. I have always known that I wanted to do it. I knew it could happen but actually getting it done was an accomplishment for me. It leads me to encourage others to go after their dreams; to write down their vision for where they want to be (mind you I am still a work in progress) and to go after it.

B.H: What led you to this journey? Can you pinpoint anything in your life that prepared you for this?

R.H: While attending Youth Fellowship at Calvary Baptist Church in South Caicos as a teen, there was an impromptu concert one night and by its very nature, we did not know that it was going to happen. I was thinking aloud and speaking about not being able to dance or sing very well as I wondered what I would do the next time the “impromptu concert” came around again. Mrs. Minot suggested, “Why don’t you write a poem?” I did and I have been writing ever since.

Over the years my writing has tackled some very grown-up issues with a view to ‘shine a light’ and raise the subject; to always cause people to think as they read my work and then to hopefully do something about what they would have read. 

B.H: Poems from the heart of a real woman, is the name of the book but what do you want readers to get from your work?

R.H: I wanted to write from a sincere place to try to speak about love. I always say that I am not an expert but here is my ‘two cents’ on the subject. I would like for people to see themselves in this book:

• it may be a poem that reminds them of their first love;
• or it could take a husband and wife to reminisce about their journey through the years in reading a few of the poems;
• it might be a warning to some to know their value and know that they are worthy of the kind of love that does not hit or hurt but the type of love that really cares for another

I want them to smile and maybe blush a little J  I would hope that it would encourage a husband to take his wife out for a romantic evening(s) and it would help to reignite the love that a couple might have allowed to fade a bit.

I want readers to feel and think and imagine and I would like the journey through my work to be a memorable one. You see, this is Rachel, the ‘hopeless romantic’ being vulnerable in finally showing the world the work that has been completed for years.

I want them to know that they can pursue their passions and dreams too and they could be realized…

B.H: They are poems of love, but I sense a desire in you to project your concept of what love is and what a man or a woman in love looks like. Am I right? 

R.H: I suppose that is correct in a sense. Some poems like “Can you see the love shining in my face” portray what really isn’t love but it may be the reality for some who are in abusive relationships.

Some might think that it may be fantasy to believe that a man could fall in love with a woman and choose to be faithful to that same woman and raise a family with her; go through life’s ups and downs and still stay together… We live in a world where that is rare, but I know of examples where that kind of love exists, and I wanted to share that in my ‘book of love’ too.

We live in a world where the devices have taken the place of courtship and people may connect on social media, hook up for a date, break up within a short span of time and they may have never had an evening where the phones were placed on the side and real conversation took place.

Yeah, it may be fanciful for me to think that if a man is interested in a woman in 2017, he would look her in the eyes and tell her so before sending a WhatsApp that says “Hey, are you dating?” J

B.H: What Makes a Man:

 ‘It is not only his performance in the bedroom, but it is his superb endurance outside of it;

 It’s not only being a provider, but it’s also the wise council of being a father,

 A male might think it’s the stride or his walk, or the puff of this chest,

 In reality, it goes beyond that to the love in his heart…’ Is this from your experience?

R.H: “What makes a man” was one of my early poems that I wrote as a teen. I wanted to bring my thoughts to the subject of what I thought a man should be. It was not about bashing men but it was taking into consideration the entire picture of a man.

It was moving beyond what may happen in intimate moments between a couple to the role of a father and what is expected of him in the role of a family. I wanted to address younger men as well who might not be thinking about children and family but who would be dating someone’s daughter and for them to think about what that young lady might be thinking about in the qualities of a man.

B.H: What does love between a man and women mean to you? How would you define true love?

R.H: I had the privilege recently to see a couple who had been married for 53 years. They raised a family with God at the center of the home and their children spoke about the love that they witnessed their Dad shower on their Mom – they spoke about him going without at times so that she would have; so that they could have. They were covered in love as children where, even though there were tough times, they did not know and feel it because their parents covered them and cared for them.

The kind of love and commitment shown in that example, in that marriage speaks volumes about how love between a man and a woman ought to be.

In today’s world, the love described above might be a rare thing, but I do believe that it can still exist where two people say ‘I love you’ and mean it and spend the rest of their lives committed to each other supporting and showing that love.

B.H: Many people today are cynics when it comes to matters of the heart. Do you believe in soul mates?

R.H: I don’t know JMaybe? Some people would readily admit that they fall in love and that they fall in love with multiple people sometimes at the same time J I believe if a man and a woman love each other and respect each other and they want to be together then they would work on making it work. They would know their limitations and they would know if they want to stay together or walk away…

B.H: Do you consider your style of writing poems to be free verse? What style of poetry do you feel comfortable using to voice your thoughts?

R.H: When I started writing, all my poems would rhyme either with immediate or alternating lines in the poem. Over the years, free verse allows for expression that is evident in most of the poems in the book. I may use other styles as I continue to write but this works for me right now.

B.H: Where do you go from here as a poet?

R.H: This book is meant to be a part of a three-book series. It is supposed to be ‘Poems from the Heart of a Real Woman  – on love’ then ‘on life’ and ‘on hope.’

I am thinking about writing again soon but it is not only poetry that I am interested in. I write plays and skits and songs… I really would love to write a romance novel, but I am still wrapping my mind around that one. I am also interested in the preservation of our history and culture in the Turks & Caicos Islands and I want to do my part in ensuring that the information is passed on to future generations.

I want to see other poets stepping up to the plate and sharing their work. I applaud those who have gone before and encourage others who will come after to share our gifts and talents to hopefully encourage and inspire scores of others to share as we have and to always keep writing!