Joanne Cucinello

My Inspirations and Why I Write

I have loved writing since I first could hold a pencil. Forming words on blank paper, words I could link together to express my thoughts, seemed almost magical. I began to realize, at a very young age, that through writing I could share my view of life and the world around me, I could share my feelings about the things I saw and heard and dreamed about. The best part was that I had something to contribute, I could touch people with my words and my poems and my stories. And so my writing life emerged with a passion, verbal snapshots punctuating who I was . . . my evolving soul waving me on.

My style is painting pictures with my words, through poetry and verse, telling stories imagined and stories of life. I connect with everyday people, those who don't have time, nor the patience, to read complicated long lines and hard to decipher poetry. I believe I write from the heart. I am an earthbound spirit and life is my inspiration. Everything has deeper meaning and a beauty all its own, and I love to uncover what isn't always obvious. This excites me . . . finding something hidden within the ordinary, and I have to share it! Sometimes it comes like a flash of light and my pen seems to flow effortlessly, and other times I'll go back to a poem over and over again, because it just doesn't say it the way I see it.

If a painting or an image touches me in some way, I find myself drawn to sit and write. I can almost 'walk' into the image and experience something new within myself. This was true, a while back, when I looked at a painting of a Native American Mother holding her precious baby with such love. I began to write my poem, "Lullaby for the Hunter's Son" in the first person, as if I were that mother, as if I were an Indian and I lost myself, becoming her for those moments. I wrote about the devastating Tsunami in Sri Lanka and I wrote as one of the mothers crying up to God. When I really identify with some aspect of a character, I begin to walk within their life as I imagine it . . . male or female.

Some of my poetry is narrative, combining storytelling and poetry, and I especially love weaving tales like this. Themes about the Cosmos and the unity of all life echo my hopes for mankind and our children yet to come. It is childhood, nature, the beauty of the cosmos, relationships, aging, mother love, the womb, tragedy, sorrow, love and belonging, humor, wildness, visions of the future . . . all these and more that make my pen takes flight.

This is the fourth edition of Mused where my poetry has been published and I'm grateful to be among the talent here. I am also the author of a published Children's Fairytale and three books of poetry. My Blog continues to grow with poems and images I enjoy sharing, and my life on this earth is truly blessed.

Namaste!