Where It All Began by Tiffiny Rose Allen

   Where It All Began

Tiffiny Rose Allen

I have a poem from my first poetry collection that I always find myself going back to. It’s titled “See The Light” and it’s about finding a light within when things around us seem gloomy, hopeless, and dark. To be honest, I can’t quite recall when I first wrote it. Funny, isn’t it? A piece that means so much to me and I can’t even remember when I wrote it. I don’t think writing is really about remembering when we write things, I think it really just matters that we write them. 

My first poetry collection is called Leave The Dreaming To The Flowers. I self-published it when I was 18 years old, I find myself going back and getting nostalgic and reflecting on it quite a bit as of late. I have chosen to revise the entire thing for its five year publication anniversary which is in August. It’s so wild, really, going back to where it all began. Some of the poems within this work I wrote when I was really young, and looking back at them makes me think of how different things were and how my writing voice was still being shaped and really finding its place. 

A lot of people have told me over the years that publishing my angsty teenage poetry for the world to see is something along the lines of cringey, a bad idea, and so on. Perhaps they are right, I mean, who would want to read something like that? I remind myself as I go through my writing journey that I’m really doing it for me, not for anyone else. I love when others read my work and provide me with reviews and feedback. I love when someone tells me that they enjoyed what it is that I have to share, I truly love those things, but at the end of the day, it’s about following through with a promise that I made to myself. It’s about sharing because I remember how badly I wanted to share my work when I was younger, and how frozen I became when it came down to it. I always told myself no, no one is going to like it, no, no one is going to read it, oh they’re going to make fun of you, they’re going to be like this, they’re going to be like that. No. 

I don’t tell myself those things anymore, and I don’t hide what I’m trying to say. I have had so many words to share and I am so proud of myself for sharing them. No matter what anyone may think of the words I have had to say or whether or not they gain any sort of value from them, I tell myself that my words will reach who they need to reach, and they will be what they need to be, and I am proud of myself, and I know my younger self is proud of me too, because I remember when I was too scared to share anything that I wrote. 

At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter if anyone else likes my work, because well, I like it, and I’m proud of it. I’ll keep talking about it, and I’ll keep writing, because well, it’s important to me. It is how I express my highest self, it is how I function through life, and how I love everything around me. I guess the point I am making is that, if you have something you want to share with the world, don’t think about how others are going to perceive it or take it in, think about what it truly means, for you. I think it is okay to be a little selfish with our craft because well, it is ours before it is anyone else’s and if we are lucky, others will see the messages we are trying to portray and will appreciate them. One thing to always keep in mind as well, is that sometimes we are more supported in our endeavors than we realize, and I will always be insurmountably grateful for the outpouring love that I have received along this journey. 

Since my first poetry collection, I have since self-published four more, as well as my first collection of short stories. If it wasn’t for my first collection, I would not have continued as I have, and although it may be flawed, and imperfect, one thing that I have said in the past that I will say again here is that there is a beauty in flaws that perfection could never understand. I think poetry of any kind, really takes in the simplest ideas and even the most complex ones and turns them into their own definition of what is seen as beautiful. Beauty is so much more than an appearance or an aesthetic, it really does come from the soul, and each word that we share through poetic form is a pure baring of the soul. 

Embrace your flaws, embrace your unique creative style, whatever it may be, as long as you are doing it because you love it, and you care about it, and it’s not harming anyone, then at the end of the day, what is yours will find you, just as you are, and just as you need it to be.

See The Light 

Can you see some joy in the air?

it was placed there for someone 

it is perceived as beauty and taken for granted, 

only the patient can really see. 

You can make it yours if you like, gather the colors and hold them to your chest,

you’re not low, you’re humble 

and you’re free. 

Now, when the earth is coated in the night,

you’ll be able to look inside yourself 

and see the light. 

 Tiffiny Rose Allen is a writer and poet. Originally from the state of Florida, she started writing at an early age and self-published her first collection of poetry Leave The Dreaming To The Flowers at the age of 18. Her poetry is eclectic in portraying her views of the different aspects of life. When she is not somewhere writing, she is either creating something with her hands or working on anything and everything that excites her. Her work has been featured in numerous magazines and anthology publications, including The Elpis Pages, Harness Magazine, and Dreamer by Night Magazine. Her poetry and short story collections can be found on Amazon. 

You can find more of her work on Instagram @dreamsinhiding.writing