Matt Carter

Storms of Change: Poems Matt Carter

...while the world panics
around me, I'm going
to watch the clouds
come closer and smile.

Storms of Change is a book about personal growth. It looks at where we've been as individuals, where we want to go, and then the cold reality of where we could go if life takes a turn for the worst. It is a book about choices and dreams as told through the eyes of a 21-year old writer.

So what sets it apart from other books of poetry? Storms of Change is never a book designed to follow in the same vein as other contemporary writers. Those looking for long, elaborate, flowing lyrics should probably look elsewhere. The poetry in this book is intimate, thought-provoking, and hopefully heartwarming. Oftentimes it focuses around a simple idea-such as overcoming disability ("Seeing clearly"), lost love ("Getting the number"), or even something as silly watching your Sunday paper heroes grow up ("When the comic ends").

The title poem is really the culmination of all thoughts and ideas within the book, as it focuses on different facets of self-motivation leading up to the same message-happiness comes from embracing the new. Other pieces, such as "Expectation" or "Staying up," hint at a similar message.

However, it would be a mistake to think the collection focuses only on heavy-handed messages. Many poems in the collection, such as the game show tribute "Big bucks, no whammies!" or the bizarre "United Bears of America," take a very sarcastic and hilarious look at society. A book should not concentrate only on eliciting a single emotion from its reader-it should make you laugh, cry, enlighten you and even inspire you.

Most importantly, the goal with Storms of Change is to provide an experience the reader won't forget anytime soon. If the readers of my book are thoroughly entertained from the beginning until the end, then no amount of c