Beneath the Surface: I Am Not Who I Was

By C.C. Reed

C.C. Reeds first collection of poetry details her coming of age in all of its glory. It is a colorful memoir of how she found herself and learned to love who she is through joys, pains and ugly happenings alike. C.C. has been writing and collecting her poetry for this lyrical autobiography of sorts for well over twenty years. Thus, some of the works included such as Sunshine and Dad Can You Hear Me? were written as early as seven years old when she first discovered the natural rhythm of her words. Her poetry is real, to the point and is capable of drawing the reader into the complex emotions she experienced on her journey to womanhood. C.C. has a unique style and though much of her poetry lacks actual rhyme and rhythm she seems to dance with the words as they leave her pen enticing readers of all ages and stages of life to join in and sing along to her music as she pours out the soul of her story.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: May 24, 2011
• ISBN: 9781463406073

C.C. Reed

CheLinda C. Reed, the youngest of three children born to Carl and Glenda Foster in Wiesbaden, West Germany, traveled extensively with her parents throughout her childhood and adolescent years. The years of traveling with her military family exposed her to a culturally diverse world. Through this exposure, CheLinda gained a love and passion for people and culture along with an uncanny ability to develop and nurture relationships with people from many different ethnic backgrounds. Wife to Michael J. Reed, III, mother of David Benjamin Reed, and formerly an active duty United States Army officer, CheLinda found time to complete a Master of Arts in Leadership from the University of Texas at El Paso. Her desire to help people and her deep rooted faith in Christ has also catapulted her into the direction of her first love which is the pursuit to become a doctor of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Having a love for writing from the time she was able to formulate letters and words, she allowed this love to blossom into her ability to create bright and brilliant poems and stories. This prolific gift produced a genre of collective tapestries in the form of poems designed to stir the heart, soul, and mind of the reader. CheLinda’s honest and poignant work along with her compassion and desire to share her voice with those who will read the pages of her heart has become water to the seed of her first work. These literary works along with her determined will; will prove to be the fertilizer in the soil which will produce many other literary products in the years to come. please use AU's image at \\cebsrv01\AH\00349410\Cover\Supplied Images

Book preview

It’s Who I Am

I had volumes of prose on the inside of me

And the haiku flowed from my treasure before the earth surrounded my soul and the LORD opened the floodgates of life for me.

Before blood pumped through my veins and teeth filled the empty space in my mouth to help me form the labial-dental praises resting on my tongue, I was a woman of the psalms.

There was an ancient plume penning stories of struggles not yet had before my good china was stolen and broken and before the chrysalis encasing my truth matured to reveal all that I am.

Yes, there were wordless groans interceding from the inside of me, pleading for God to spare me from the death I was seeking to escape reality.

I am that I am, by his grace, poetry,

And, it is me.

Youthful

When I was a child, I thought as a child, I acted as a child, I wrote as a child. It is only as an adult that one realizes the joy of being a child a life uncomplicated by the demands of whiny, thumb-sucking three year old or tired and hungry husbands who don’t want to discuss their day. This collection of poems is dedicated to the memory of my childhood, filled with all of the wonder of innocence and the impatience to be grown. All of the poems in this chapter were written in my youth and adolescent years.

Sunshine

If I had a choice I’d live in the sunshine where everything is fun.

In the sunshine we’d be nice and warm,

Playing in the water and bathing in the sun.

The sun, the sun, such a beautiful thing,

So hot and so bright

It brings life to everything.

If I had a choice I’d live in the sunshine where there’s fun for everyone!

Dad Can You Hear Me?

Dad can you hear me?

I said I love you.

No, you’re not listening,

So I’ll explain it to you.

When I say I love you, I want a response.

Dad can you hear me.

I said I love you.

Best Friend

In all of my life, a whole fifteen years,

So far I’ve only had one true friend.

A friend so honest, kind and true,

So happy I am to have a friend like you!

A friend who understands me and knows everything I do,

So lucky I am to have a friend like you.

You’ve stood right by me through thick and thin,

Always there to lend me a hand,

You’ve held fast through hurt and pain,

You make sure the sun shines after the rain.

Though right now we’re far apart,

I can always reach you straight through my heart.

There’s no one who can replace you that I can see,

We make the perfect pair just you and me.

My Hatred is not for You

My hatred is not for you, but for the evil things you do,

You roll your eyes, turn your neck and suck a tooth or two.

But even still, my hatred is not for you.

Your temper this big—will snap at me,

But I have no feelings of enmity,

Not for you, for you are just like me,

You are only a man who cannot see.

But there is a difference between you and me,

God stands by me and is the reason why

My hatred is not for you but for your ruler,

the devil, who is evil, vile, ill and no good.

My hatred is for him, never for you.

The Coy Mistress’

Reply to the Lustful Man

Time is so short, and right you may be,

But just anyone shall not take my virginity.

I have but for so long protected my treasure,

And yet you want to erase it for your own pleasure.

You want to take away all that I’ve saved up,

You want to eat the bread from which my Love must sup.

You say we should while there is time to tick away,

But after you’ve had me there’s nothing to make you stay.

Love endures with time, and if there be not time enough,

Then sex would just be that, and would not mean so much,

So much to Him, that I, He doth pursue,

A fool I’d be to believe all your words the truth.

Men will do what they feel they must,

But I let myself laugh at the notions of their lust.

So slow your roll, your move is too fast,

Your tongue speaketh lies just trying to get past,

Past my steel belt of Love and chastity,

You may have had others, but you will not have