Why “The Quirky Creator?”

I started writing three years ago in my journal as an extension of my work in therapy. Six journals, one self-published memoir of sorts, countless poems, and one fiction manuscript later, here I am. It just keeps pouring out of me. I recently gave my dentist some of my small batch Terrabalma skin care products and a poem. She responded, "I have your book, tough & vulnerable, on my bedside table, and whenever I need a little inspiration or a laugh, I pick it up and read a chapter. I never knew you were funny! And now skin balm? I don’t know how you do it! I really enjoyed the poem. It was a little quirky, but it spoke to me." I responded, "That’s me—quirky!" When people used to describe me as quirky, I took it as an insult. But my outlook has shifted, and now I fully embrace it.

This is the poem she was referring to:

Exposed

I am vulnerable.

Exposed to the elements

Cold, cruel words biting, 

teeth on metal

Wind through the tree branches, whispering self-doubt in my ear

The earth opening, swallowing me whole

Undertow pulling and sucking me down 

Burnt, crispy & charred.

I thaw 

Genuine warmth with the pressure of a hug,

a gentle breeze of encouragement

The beaches I walk rejuvenate my spirit

I stand tall, 

my spine composed of titanium 

Flames lick my feet,

rekindling my passion

I am grounded now

This is how I grow.

Elementally

Won’t you join me?