Looking Back...

I was cleaning out some papers from my desk and ran across two things I had written when I was younger. One was from October 1997, I was 17 years old and a senior in highschool. It was a short story titled "In a World with Peace", for a news paper we were writing in my English class. The other was a poem I wrote when I was 21. I'm sharing them with you today and reminding myself of where I have been as a writer and how far I have come. So, welcome to memory lane with me. I hope it's a pleasant stroll. You will notice that the short story says by Quinn Troche', Troche's is my maidan name. In a World with Peace, by Quinn Troche' Peace sat and stared out the window of her Dallas apartment. The day had begun as boring as they all do on Christmas vacation. Although Peace had never really thought about it, she wondered what made Christmas so special. Could it really be just Santa Clause? She couldn't stand not knowing so she decided to go to the library. When she arrived she didn't know exactly where to look so she asked the librarian. "I want to know why Christmas is so special can you give me a book that will tell me?" The librarian looked puzzled for a moment but then it hit her, "Yes, as a matter of fact I do have a book that will tell you, but would you mind if I read it to you?" Asked the librarian. "No, not at all. I would really like that." Answered Peace. So the librarian went to get the extraordinary book that was going to tell Peace why Christmas was so special. When the librarian arrived back to Peace with the book she said, "This is called the Bible. This book tells us the story of Christmas, and many other stories that have to do with why we were created, and the whole plan of God." Peace stared in awe at the book and eagerly asked, "Can I know God?" The librarian looked at Peace and said, choking back tears, "Yes my sweet, you can know God." And so they sat down together in the quiet, Peace filled library, and the librarian shared the love of Jesus with a little girl names Peace, who ironically had never known what her name really meant until she met Jesus. Poem by Quinn Loftis 21 years of age: I miss you When I feel your arms around me, and I feel your breath on my skin. I feel safe as your love surrounds me, you melt away the loneliness within. How each day I long to hold you, to hear you whisper my name. It's been awhile since I told you, I still hold this hurt and shame. And when I'm lonely it's magnified, when you're not here it fills my head. To let it go seems simplified, it's not done easier than it's said. Please don't hold my burdens on you, they are not yours to bear. God will hold them and make me new, these are not struggles I need to share. I feel safe when I hear you say, that your love is forever. I look forward to each new day, knowing we will be together. I know you're tired and you're worn, your days are filled with stress. Your time is stretched and it's torn, how quickly life becomes a mess. Give me time I will get it together, I will hold you more. Give me time I will do better, I will give you more. Thank you for letting me share my past with you. Every writer has a place where they started, a place where they learned that writting opened something inside them. I love to write. I love to bare a part of me to the world and hope that it touches someone else. Are these national best sellers waiting to happen...no, but they are a piece of me that at one time needed to come out and now I share them with you. God bless! Quinn