Thoughts on Paper: A Composition of Poetry

By Louis Strickland

"Thoughts on Paper" has been a long time coming for me. These works have been written over an extensive period of time to present, during my most personal
moments of happiness, sadness, loneliness, anger, fear, success, and failure. It has taken quite some time for me to decide that it was worthy of being shared.
"Thoughts on Paper" is just that, and as I prepare them to publish, I can still remember why I appreciate and wrote each of them.
They are my most personal thoughts and I hold them dear and my hope is that you enjoy them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Sep 14, 2015
• ISBN: 9781514406861

Louis Strickland

Louis is a native of North Carolina. He graduated from E.E. Smith High School in Fayetteville, N. Carolina. He then followed his true ambition which was to serve his country in the United States Army where he was honored to serve for 20 years alongside many great men and women, Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen alike. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice and a Master of Science Degree in Information Management.  In “Thoughts on Paper” you will share the constant struggle of a man using various personal experiences to understand and rationalize life’s challenges, failures, and successes.

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Copyright © 2015 by Louis Strickland.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 11/05/2015

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Contents

Preface

Acknowledgements and Dedication

Hello

Colors

Deep

Hook or Crook

Night Whispers

Enraged

Today I Cried

Some Kind of Friend

Need a Little More Time

Imagine That

Change

Precious…

Know the Measure of a Man

State of Innocence

One Cloudy Day

Of the Beautiful Things

Evil That Men Do

A Soldier’s Song

Now is Forever

Unbridled

Passion in spring

I Try

Practical Humanity

What I Have Learned

First We Meet

The Chosen

Love Symphony

Why Try Love

Troubled Waters Ahead

Phenomenal Friend

Love Is…?

Clearly

Mommy, Where’s Daddy?

The Last Psalm

Daddy’s Goodbye

The Root to Evil

Victories Lost

The Real World

Cause and Effect

Friendship

Strength in Faith

A Moral Leadership

No Limitations

Acceptance

Opinions

I Never Knew

There is Always One

Preface

Thoughts on Paper is something that I have been working on pretty much all my life. It is really nothing more than the title implies. We all have thoughts and many of us have thoughts that we want to express with someone, without reply, just a listening ear and a rational mind to express what has been on our minds.

I have seized this opportunity to share my thoughts with you, the reader, in the hopes that you may find something in the pages that possesses some similarity to what you may be experiencing. I have not attempted to place Thoughts on Paper in any sort of chronological order. This record or journal is a compilation of my thoughts and views at the time on a chosen topic and so a particular order just didn’t seem to be all that important.

Most of us can’t claim to be great writers or great thinkers for that matter; but we all have thoughts and opinions whether written or spoken, and in some cases we chose to not share them for our own personal reasons. I offer Thoughts on Paper as an expression of my thoughts and opinions and the appreciation of those of others.

I am of the mind that if one takes a moment to embrace this compilation of thoughts they may find that we share an array of common opinions, thoughts, feelings, and emotions. You will see the constant struggle of one individual attempting to understand and rationalize with various experiences of life. You will see that there are influences that could’ve driven one to choose a more deviant path in life and you will be compelled to note anger, confusion, clarity, and passion that could inspire anyone to become something better than what they were born into.

I have kept most of my deepest emotions bottled up and stifled so as not to offend those around me. It has taken many years for me to finally decide to organize my thoughts and share them, so for the purpose of this literature I intend to pour out as much love, pain, passion, hurt, encouragement, discouragement, thought, opinions, and inspirations I can think of. I see this as an opportunity to release and share and I intend to do so.

Some of the poems and expressions will clearly indicate the changes in my way of thinking at the time; others are a bit more complex, as they are meant to be as these were complex times in my life. By no stretch of the imagination do I expect everyone to pick up my experiences and embrace them as some great insight into their own. I need this for me, and I am excited and pleased to share it with you; whoever you may be. I wish for you to embrace it as your own and share a personal understanding of what events may have transpired in the life of another. Essentially, what you get from Thoughts on Paper is for you and only you; you will know when it’s your time to share. Enjoy!

Acknowledgements and Dedication

It is seemingly a very complicated task to look back over one’s life and determine who deserves the recognition and thanks for the shaping of another’s destiny. However, to lend the most accurate means of appreciation and gratitude, I contend that this expression is truly the result of all personal interaction, good, bad, and indifferent that one has relished and endured over time that produces the most refined product. In this regard, I extend my most humble thanks to the following real life inspirations.

Thoughts on Paper is dedicated in loving memory of my Grandfather, Mr. Henry T. Monroe; a loving father, mentor, and a good man. Thank you for your strength and guidance and for instilling a strong sense of personal pride and work ethics in my life; to my Grandmother, Mrs. Effie M. Monroe, the woman who taught me how to be a man of dignity, honor, and respect; and for teaching me