Facebook is a wonderful addition to this world! I met a fellow Nowatan (?)through Facebook and Marquis and I have developed a friendship. One thing we have in common is our desire to see Nowata grow and flourish into a community that fits it’s heart. I asked Marquis to write a piece about his poetry and motivation behind the gift.
“I get my inspiration for my poetry from a variety of people and places. I take little segments of my surroundings and use them to help develop a poem. If a person was to sit down today and flip through my books, he or she would probably notice a variety of themes ranging from family, injured/fallen soldiers, nature, and other topics. Sometimes, I’ll be sitting at home in the evening trying to relax, and a poem idea will pop into my mind. I will either keep thinking about the idea to help develop it into an actual poem, or it might fade away to return again some other time. I’ve had people tell me that some of my really emotional poems are some of my best work because it captures the attention of the reader so they’ll read the entire piece. I’ve had friends/coworkers/family members tell me that after reading a certain poem of mine that it brought tears to their eyes. It is an awesome feeling knowing that I can impact a person’s life through my writing.”
“When I was a senior at Nowata High School during the 1995-1996 school year, I took a class called Creative Writing. The teacher of the class, Ms. Betty Deen, was a wonderful teacher. Before I took the class, I had always focused more on writing short stories and seemed to avoid writing poetry because I just didn’t want to have to mess with making every line rhyme or make it flow in such a short amount of space. At the time, I didn’t really consider poetry as “my thing”. While in Creative Writing under the direction of Ms. Deen, I soon learned to appreciate poetry. I think she saw a diamond in the rough and could see raw natural talent within me that I hadn’t discovered on my own in the past.”
“As high school graduation approached, I still wrote short stories and the occasional poem or two. It seemed like from that point on through the present time, I have turned my attention now more towards poetry and less on short stories. If a person was to look back at some of my earlier poems and compare them to some of the poems I’ve written recently, one might notice that the poems from the past were a bit shorter in length and more open as far as topic was concerned. If one was to look at a more recent piece of my writing he or she might notice that the writing has gotten longer in length and sometimes more in depth or narrowed in topic.”
“My journey of wanting to get published started out a little rocky. In the past, I had sent samples of my work to a couple other publishers and not to long after that received rejection letters from them. It seemed a bit depressing, but I knew that if I wanted to truly get published that I would have to continue searching for that door that would soon open for me. I think it was on a weekend and I had been looking online just browsing at different publisher’s websites at that time. I would check a few here and there, but you know after getting several rejection letters it got me to thinking about my writing. I was about to give up my search for a publisher and say forget it, but part of me just couldn’t give up so easily. After browsing various publisher websites, I ran across the website for PublishAmerica. I decided to give them a try and the worst they could say to me was sorry and then I’d move on with my search. I was excited and still in a bit of disbelief when they liked what they saw with my writings and wanted me to send the complete manuscript of my first book.”
“The publishing process for me seemed like a slow tedious process, because it might be a few days to a week or two before moving onto the next step. The end product was well worth the wait. I was still in shock somewhat when I received the copy of my first book in the mail. To hold the book with my name on the cover was an exciting feeling. Getting published was something I had dreamed about doing but never really thought it would come true for me. In 2004 / 2005, my first book (Heartfelt Memories) was published. Then in 2005, my second book (Treasured Journeys) was brought into the world for people to read.”
“Both books can be found on the publisher’s website at www.publishamerica.com. People interested in checking them out and wanting to order them can go to the online bookstore at the website address provided and either search for the book titles or my name (Marquis Heyer). Thank you, for more information about the books, you can go to the publisher’s website or they can email me at marquis_heyer@hotmail.com.”
A few of Marquis’s Poems
COUNTRYSIDE MEMORIES
Last night, momma and I drove out to the country
To see the view of the town from the hillside
It is always pretty out here this time of year
With the wildflowers blooming and the trees in full growth
We decided to take a new scenic route to the countryside
Momma must have known about it, but it was new to me
We turned off the highway a couple miles back
Onto County Road 78 past Johnson’s Gas Stop and Cafe
I could see momma had something special in mind
When she saw the cafe and gas station beside us
She looked at me and without a single word just smiled
As we proceeded down the road, we saw a few wild turkeys in the field
And had to stop to let some deer cross the road
More and more fields passed by us as momma continued driving
I was getting somewhat bored from seeing all the fields with no other scenery
Laying my head back on the headrest of the seat, I closed my eyes and listened
I could hear momma humming a song to herself
It was a song I had heard a long time ago but could not remember the full song
I opened my eyes once again and looked over at her while she was driving
She turned for a moment, and once again, said nothing and smiled
Up ahead, I could see a dead end sign and wondered where momma was going
Just before reaching the sign, there was a hidden entrance to a yard
The fence that once had been clear and painted white
Was now faded and covered with thick honeysuckle vines
As we drove down the tree lined driveway, I could see a big house getting closer
Somewhere in my past, I have been here, but I don’t remember when
Momma stopped the car up near two aged pine trees close to the house
I got out and took in the fresh country air and immediately I was taken back
To the memories I had stored away in my mind from my childhood
I remember this place now, but it looks so different
The house has been empty for a number of years now
And as I soon found out from momma, the property was given to her
You could tell she cherished this place as it was her childhood getaway
It had belonged to her grandparents and has been in the family for years
Not wanting to leave the city life behind, none of the other family members
Really wanted to move out here in this beautiful, peaceful place
So momma was named as the property owner
She smiled and spent the rest of the evening here at this place
We would soon call our home
As the sun went down and the moon came up, we headed toward the car
Driving back down County Road 78 back onto the highway
To start packing for a new life
In the countryside
Copyright©2010 Marquis D. Heyer
PLAYING IN THE MUD ON A SUMMER DAY
As I was walking along the sidewalk on this sunny afternoon
Smelling the fresh clean air after a summer rain
I overheard two children talking about what to do for fun this day
One child suggested they take off their shoes and run
Through the mud and water standing in the front yard
Their eyes lit up with that idea
As if it was the best idea in the whole world
With shoes flying onto the front porch, little footprints began to appear
In the muddy patches among the yard
This lasted for quite a while
Watching them take high steps and then bury their feet deep into the squishy mud
With each step came a giggle or two
They were having a great time playing and marching all over the yard
I could see in the eyes of one child what he had in mind
At one edge of the yard was a sloped area
Where during the winter time, the slope would make a perfect area for sledding
But today, it was not winter time, and on that slope was not snow
With one of the boy’s mother inside not looking out the window
The children grabbed the two big metal trash can lids and headed to the top
Both children found a way to get to the top of the slope without getting in each other’s way
The first child crawled onto the makeshift sled and asked for his friend to push him
Soon, he was off sliding down the muddy embankment
Landing right into a muddy waterpit which they had not seen before
The child was now covered from head to toe in mud and water
Up at the top of the hill, the second child laughed seeing his friend below
The muddy child made his way to the top of the slope to assist his friend
Crawling onto his sled and holding on tight, the second child slid down the hill
And just like the first child, he landed in the same muddy mess
Now both children were completely covered but continued playing on their sleds
Until their fun was interrupted by the child’s mother standing at the door
Her arms crossed, she looked sternly at both children as if to scold them for doing wrong
When she realized that they were having a great time and not hurting anyone
She changed her frown to a smile and watched them go from top of the hill
To being like a mudfish in the muddy water below at the base of the hill
She ran back in the house to grab her camera so as to record this fun summertime memory
When they were all finished playing and ready to go inside
The mother pointed the two friends toward the water hose on the side of the house
So as to clean them off before they went in
She sprayed them both down and watched as the mud rolled down their body
Hitting the ground below them
They laughed and had a great time
And headed inside the house
On this sunny summer day
Copyright©2010 Marquis D. Heyer
INDEPENDENCE DAY AT THE PARK
With the summer time heat come the thoughts of fresh, juicy watermelon,
Picnics under the shade tree, swimming pools, and of course fireworks after dark in the park
Every July for the past few years, I have found a spot under a shade tree
Where I could sit and enjoy good conversations and music from the local musicians
At the city’s Independence Day activities
This year, I came early to find a big shade tree that wasn’t already occupied by others
I found one off to one side past the slides and merry-go-round
Opening my lawn chair, I had found my spot to enjoy the evening’s festivities
The musicians were on two stages set up near the swings
This was the perfect location so festivity goers could see and hear the musicians
As I looked around, I could see families, friends, food vendors and fun games
While over under the canopy, watermelon was being sliced up
To help bring some coolness from the summer’s heat
Over on the other corner of the park, games for the kids were taking place
As well as a snow cone stand and a root beer float stand
As the evening progressed, the sun slowly slipped away behind the trees
Bringing in a calm, beautiful evening
Young children played with sparklers, glow worms, and snappers
While their parents watched over them to make sure they were safe
As the holiday activities continued to take place throughout the evening
Over on the main stage, a crew was setting up a patriotic performance
Red, white and blue banners were strung from one end to the other
While over on the other stage, a raffle was being held to give away patriotic prizes
Such as firework packages, picnic baskets full of goodies, sweet treats, and more
Soon, an announcer walked up to the podium on the main stage
Speaking clearly so all the crowd could hear him
He told a story of a soldier who temporarily put aside his dreams and goals
In order to protect our country and to fight for our freedom
As the introduction came to an end, all eyes turned toward the end of the stage
Where a disabled soldier wheeled up to the podium in his wheelchair
He told his story of how his life changed that July day one year ago
In an unfamiliar land far away from his family, friends and loved ones
He told of the explosion that took away his legs but not his determined spirit and patriotism
What kept him going after that experience were his thoughts of his wife and newborn baby
He turned and acknowledged them where they sat on a chair on the stage
Pausing for a moment before continuing his story, he took a deep breath
Tears began to fill his eyes as he talked about his fellow brothers and sisters in uniform
Who did not make it home from the battle
He wanted to keep their stories and memories alive for the sake of their families and friends
When the soldier finished his story, he quietly thanked everyone for coming out this day
With tears in their eyes, the festivity goers gave that young man a warm welcome
And a big round of applause to thank him for his service and show their love
Everyone stood and continued to applaud him and the other military members present
Several people came up to him and hugged him and shook his hand as he left the stage
The announcer came back onto the stage and prepared everyone
For the great music and the fireworks show waiting to begin at any moment
As I stood there, I began to see the fireworks shoot up into the night sky
Serenaded by music from a local musician
While I sunk my teeth into a big slice of cold, juicy watermelon
On this Independence Day holiday at the park
Copyright©2010 Marquis D. Heyer
Thank you, Marquis
Have a safe and happy 4th of July!
Let freedom ring!
