I write my thoughts.
Maria Chapero and her book of poetry.
I learn from experience,
I tell stories,
I have inspiration every day.
What you read today
Is a collection of myself
And other things.
When Maria Chapero was 12 years old, she began to write.
Her immediate inspiration was a journal she purchased at IKEA. In it went her ruminations, musings and dreams, first in her native Spanish and later in the English she had begun to master.
She wrote when her native Venezuela began to fall into chaos, and her family left Maracaibo – a northwestern city called “The Beloved Land of the Sun” – for Vestal in snowy Upstate New York. She wrote when she attended Vestal High School and when she came to SUNY Broome. She’s still writing today.
“Suddenly I started writing every day,” said Chapero, a Liberal Arts major who will graduate this May. “I want to write books – any kind of books!”
Honestly,
I’m a half introvert
So this is hard to share
But the extrovert part
Wants to share the content
Of this book and what a nice
Way than to put everything
In just one place.
The cover of Maria Chapero’s book of poetry.
For your understanding,
I’m going to tell you
What’s in my mind.
She has already written one: Wild Thoughts, a book of her poetry, now available online at Amazon and, eventually, Barnes & Noble and The Book Depository.
On April 20, she will discuss her experience in self-publishing at Speakers of the House, SUNY Broome’s chapter of Toastmasters International, at 3:10 p.m. in Wales Building Room 203-B.
“Everyone can do it and it’s not that expensive,” she said of self-publishing. While the process was much more intensive years ago, “there’s now an easier path and I want people to know about it,” she said.
I am someone
Who has a lot of projects.
Like a maniac
I journal.
I always
Have this feeling
that time is running
away from me,
so I must act quickly
or just write about it.
There was a time,
Very dark times
For me.
I moved to another
Country and my Grandfather died
Two days after my
Birthday, I also thought
That I lost those friends
I had back in my hometown.
Hometown.
Seems so strange,
It never came across me
This feeling that maybe,
Hometown is just a pretty
Word for “I lived here and
Was born here”
Chapero was 16 years old when her family left their native land, once the richest country in Latin America but now in the grip of a humanitarian crisis.
“It was pretty bad. We knew it was going to get worse,” Chapero said of her family’s decision to leave.
As a teen, she learned a new language – and shifted her writing accordingly.
“At first my writing was just in Spanish, but now I write in both languages,” she explained. “My brain thinks in both languages.”
Her poems are spare and confessional, featuring short lines and a sense of space. Sometimes she writes poetry using her smartphone, which lends itself to a more abbreviated art form.
Before I moved,
I wanted to switch
Things a lot,
Destiny listened to me
And gave me the opportunity
To switch the way I see life.
You see, before everything,
Life was awesome,
I felt awesome,
I had a loving family,
I had loyal friends
(They are still my friends, and
my family still loves me,
Hello!)
but then,
everything got taken away
from me and I almost let
Sadness take over me
And destroy me like
A tornado.
Maybe that’s it.
My mind was just a tornado of emotions.
Chapero has enjoyed her time at SUNY Broome. Her favorite professor is Kathleen McKenna, whom she met during her first semester on campus. Maria’s English wasn’t as polished then, and she credits Professor McKenna with helping her improve her public speaking skills.
“Before speaking, I would get really nervous. She really helped me with that,” said Chapero.
Now, back in the present,
I’m happy, very happy
I must admit.
It wasn’t that easy
But at the same time
It wasn’t that hard.
I learn to remove
Negative thoughts
And ignore those
Who want the worst for me.
Now, I’m learning
To throw away my fears
And start on my projects.
This is the first step to it.
Maria’s own favorite writer is Chilean author Isabel Allende, whom she reads in her native Spanish.
It may seem counterintuitive for an introvert to self-publish a book of poetry – and speak about it to a group of people on campus – but that’s part of the writer’s life, something Maria aspires to and works toward.
When people read her work, “they are reading something very personal, but it can mean whatever they want,” she said of her decision to share her poetry with the larger world.
After graduating in May, she plans to attend Binghamton University and major in creative writing – another step closer to her dreams of being an author.
To finish all this nonsense,
I wanted to say that
If you don’t have anyone to
Talk to or just don’t want to
Say anything,
Please,
Journal about it until
Your heart tells you to stop,
Then read it the next day
And laugh at yourself.
