Poem-A-Week
Becoming
by Donato Martinez
From pain to glory
Sadness to joy
From tears to a crooked smile
From messy sketches to art
From a fresh wound to a scar
From broken strings and broken dreams
to compositions of beautiful symphonies
Been consumed by the negative but feeling positive
I am turning nothing into something
From a deep slumber of ignorance, I wake to sunshine and a dream
From failed promises, I am ready to renew
From wet dreams to grown children
From turmoil to peace
From chaos and disorder
I am seeking wisdom and a new order
I came from dirt but I will glow like a diamond
I am down but I aspire to inspire
I am becoming
I am becoming
From being sick to being healed
By a new remedy
A thought, an epiphany
from scribbles to poetry
like drunk last night to a sober reality
I have been empty but I will be full filled
I have been lost. I am trying to be found.
Because sunsets become moonlight becomes sunrise becomes illumination
I am becoming
I am becoming
I am here.
Donato Martinez teaches English composition, Literature, and Creative Writing at Santa Ana College. He hosts and curates a bi-annual afternoon of artistic expression with poetry, dance, and live music. These events generate large crowds and active participation. He is also a poet and writes about his barrio upbringing, his community, his culture, his bi-cultural and bilingual identities and other complexities of life. He is influenced by the sounds and pulse of the streets, people, music, and the magic of language. ​He has a self-published collection with three other Inland Empire poets, Tacos de Lengua. His work has been published by City Works, Eastside Rose, Acentos Review, and Ofrenda Magazine. Forthcoming publications will appear in La Raiz Magazine and The San Diego Poetry Annual. He loves the outdoors and is inspired by music, books, movies, and his children, Gabriel and Abigail.