V

I don’t have a life:
I exist in the corners
Of the lives of others
Kind enough to lend me space.
No, don’t shake your head,
Protest and frown,
Condemning me for self-pity.
It’s true: the words say it all:
Wife, daughter, friend, mother.
They define me by my
Relationships with others.
My name: a jumble of sounds
Meaning nothing in themselves,
A label by which to identify,
Quantify, stratify and forget:
Put me in my box
And hope I stay there.
Me, I reduce my name
To a single initial.
It takes up less space, less attention.
And maybe, just maybe
Beyond all names
I may shine, alone.

By Viv

I’ve been lurking and peeping at the window for a while an Michael suggested I contact Miki and so now I have come on board. I’m not sure at al ofthe protocol or etiquette in this place but I hope not to overturn at coffee cups. I also have no idea how to post anything beyond comments.
I should introduce myself: I’m Vivienne, often known just as Viv or even V, and I’m a writer from Suffolk in England. I have written since before I could read, bashing away on my Dad’s typewriter while the story in my head thundered away. I’ve had a fair bit published over the years in the way of poems, short stories and articles but the great prize still eludes me. Having got to the committee stage with various publishers who were considering taking on novels from me, and then have them back out I think I know a little of what it must feel like to be abandoned at the altar. Michael said in another post that Writers need to be read and I couldn’t agree more. It’d also be nice if they got paid too but that may be a counsel of luxury right now at these times of huge changes. So I’d like to say hi to you all and hope we can get to know each other.
I have posted here a poem that has been published before and hope that you like it and that it may help to introduce me better than I can here:
V