David L. Harkins

David L. Harkins Poems

David L. Harkins Biography

David L. Harkins endeavors to make sense of the chaos around him through the thoughtful telling of life stories in what he hopes to be an engaging and sometimes humorous manner at his blog, It's A Process (www.itsaprocess.com) Dave was born in capital city of West Virginia the year John F. Kennedy was assassinated. He cheered Neil Armstrong‘s walk on the moon, watched solar eclipses through a color-film negative, and listened to music on 8-Track tapes. He watched President Nixon resign his office, owned a first edition Sony® Walkman, and remembers his physical location when both Harry Chapin and John Lennon died. Growing up he spent more than his fair share of time grounded to his bedroom, yet he wisely used this time engineer and flight test from his window the most amazing paper airplanes decorated with, perhaps unwisely upon reflection, the phrase, “Help! ! ! I’m being held captive by a wicked witch! ” When not in captivity, he survived walks through protesters during the Kanawha County Textbook Controversy, was interested enough to learn New Math, rose many mornings at 5: 00 AM to deliver newspapers, and learned how to march and play the trombone at the same time. He set off for college to become a dentist, but organic chemistry got the better of him and a wise chemistry professor encouraged the pursuit of a different career. Communications and marketing became his focus, but it was a wiser creative writing professor who first suggested he think about becoming a writer. Unfortunately, his parents had no room in the basement for him to make a home, so he took to a life of marketing and advertising—the closest fields he could find to writing that actually paid enough to keep him out of his parent’s basement. As a young man, he perfected the art of chasing shiny things. Throughout his career he has never stayed in one place for more than about five years. If you are interested in this side of his life, check out his website and business blog at www.davidharkins.com. These days he’s either trying to figure out what he wants to be when he grows up, or looking for the guy he lost somewhere between the 8-year-old who spent an hour hanging only by his watch band and the man he now looks at in the mirror every morning. Either way, it’s a process.)

The Best Poem Of David L. Harkins

When I Am 18 Again

When I am eighteen again,

I will remember the excitement of living

and forget the dramas of daily life.



When I am eighteen again,

I will see more bright smiles in the hallway

and fewer dull reflections on the hallway floors.



When I am eighteen again,

I will build stronger friendships

and tear down my insecurities.



When I am eighteen again,

I will do more of those things I want to do

and worry less about fitting in because of my choices.



When I am eighteen again,

I will fall in love with a giggling girl

and overcome my shyness to ask for a date.



When I am eighteen again,

I will remember how it feels to be eighteen

and forget I am not eighteen.



When, I am eighteen, again.


(October 24,2012)

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