Poetry is a first. I didn't go to any formal school or take any literal related class to learn this, before I could command breath to lines from my pen.
I delved and have being writing poems since I was fifteen. At first, I wrote for myself, but when one day, someone randomly stumbled on my first ever written piece, she was surprised and asked if I actually wrote the piece myself, I said yes. Found it hard to believe, but ended up believing because the piece was written in my handwriting.- yes, It was on paper. I hadn't gotten a phone by then.
My sister was my first reader.. she pushed me to write more pieces, even though I wasn't interested in continuing in the art, she pushed me, and I ended up writing 4 more pieces before I turned 17 the next year.
I know my poems are not just mediocre stuff, because I have come in highly recommended by many, and have been read by highly placed personas in the field of poetry… my works have being commended by them.
As confident as I may sound, it may come as a shock to you that I only became proud of my works recently. I earlier mentioned I write strictly for myself… taking pleasure in fixing, refixing and paraphrasing my pieces. That was before my sister discovered my first piece in one of my old journals.
When she read it and told me it was good, I didn't take her words for it, well, because you know, she is family and may try to exaggerate how good she felt what I'd written was and I didn't want to get my hopes up. Although, my doubts about her review of my writing changed when my piece took a step further out; a family friend read it( he was a a hot cake in the literary world) and applauded my command of words.
And, Poetry, ladies and gents, amongst a host of others, is something I learnt and undoubtedly mastered the art of, without any formal training.