The Space Between: A Poem of Process

In THE SPACE BETWEEN, Melissa Apodaca has created a narrative poem from her life process. We see her play with words and their spacial relationships on the page. We follow her process of loving and grieving. We feel, in these pages, the pleasure and the pain of writing. She says: At the moment my mind is as blank as the paper before my eyes. I struggle with every word, contemplating the lost thoughts I have pushed aside. I reach within for unwanted emotion as a substitute to only find my will no longer allows such an entrance. Detaching myself emotionally, I have come to know pain as a self-infliction of the mind, which I control in the way I respond to myself. End result being, I take full responsibility in the creation of my own happiness and suffering. I feel my knowledge concerning this realization will unfold new layers of personal growth I must endure. I feel my inner strength cling to my heart like a wet blanket, protecting me by a warmth once believed to be yours. I feel this inner strength drive me through layers of darkness which fear cements in a body of stone as truth. I chisel away at the remains of a space, I can not see, only feel. I tremble in the shadow of my own self-reflection, as I search for something more. Never giving up hope I drive. I strive to not only know but conquer, the space between.