At thirteen, after seeing a poem that had been spray painted on the side of a building, I was hooked. I went to school and wrote what I'd seen on my desk, unable to keep it out of my head.
My teacher noticed that I'd defaced school property and was prepared to send me home with a note to my mother (oh no) until he read the words. "Do you know what this is?" He asked me. "It's something I read on the way here." I told him. "This is a poem...do you know about poetry?" He continued. I didn't answer him right away. It was another week before I would express interest in learni more...
