How “September Love” Reminded Me of My Adoration For Poetry as a Writer

Throughout the past two years, I have grown a profound connection to poetry. After being shown just a single page of her work from my best friend, Lang Leav became one of my favorite poets out there. For the past week, I indulged once again into the mesmerizing world of poetry by reading her newest book, September Love. 

Beginning as a poem in one of her earlier books, Sea of Strangers, Leav created an entire piece based off of what would become September Love. As I was reading through the pages, I found myself immersing into the scenarios that Leav illustrated onto paper. At times, it seemed as if she was able to produce my own thoughts into words because of how intimate each poem became, page after page. Not only did she capture the perceptions of love and heartbreak, but she also expressed how vulnerability and honesty is crucial for writers. 

There were two poems in specific that stood out to me. The first poem is titled “The Chase,” which perfectly encapsulated the scenario of how the author will no longer chase after a man she once loved and has since then grown beyond the heartbreak of the unrequited relationship. I was able to fully resonate with the words in this poem since I associated it with my first heartbreak. This poem allowed me to read the words in my own voice and I felt the growth of being able to have moved on from a similar situation. Leav writes that she isn’t the same person anymore who would have given her all to this person. It made me acknowledge that sometimes when we want to give our all to someone, even though it isn’t reciprocated, we can lose ourselves in the process. 

The second poem that was very meaningful to me is called “The Golden Rule.” In this poem, Leav stresses the importance of vulnerability when creating poetry and/or writing in general. She points out the hardships and doubts writers may have due to fear of rejection, judgement and criticism. However, she states that criticism will always be present with being a writer. She advises writers to not alter the way in which they write just to fulfill their critics because the only validation we need is from ourselves. 

This poetry collection was able to fulfill the hopeless romantic in me with her tender words of what it means to love, while simultaneously reminding me of what it means for me to be a writer. I simply loved this beautiful work of Lang Leav because it has inspired me to shape my life with love and purpose. September Love has become a lovely reminder for me to create my art unapologetically from now on.

• lang leav
• poet
• poetry
• writer