bronx zoo by Laura Minning

b r o n x   z o o

…I feel captive of the world around me,

as I glance through my cage

(of protection and confinement)

and see the passing eyes,

and hear the amazed sounds of smiles,

I wonder of my fate and destiny.

For people accept me as a stuffed fascination,

and cage me without consent

(of hope or being).

Oh to live a life of freedom,

that is my ultimate dream.

And my friends are in my place

(of a caged society)

and they wonder of me,

as I think of them.

For we wish for freedom,

and demand to be heard.

So when I touch my bars of jail,

and see those passing eyes,

I feel ashamed.

(For it prevents me from forgetting

my bored and captive life,

and my friends of freedom shelters roam.)

For to be free is my painstaking goal,

and to run wild is my everlasting dream…

~laura minning

excerpt from “sunburst”

published by xlibris

in may of 2005

Laura Minning began writing creatively at the age of nine. She’s become an award winning published poet and author since that time. All in all, she’s had one-hundred and seven individual poems, six articles, two books, two plays and one piece of prose published in both hard copy and on-line. Her work has been featured in publications like “Literature Today”, “Amulet Magazine” and “Slate & Style”.

Laura received her first Editor’s Choice Award in 1993 for “bronx zoo” and her first International Merritt of Poetry Award in 1995 for “introspection” by the National Library of Poetry. Poetry.com recognized her work a decade later by granting her the title of International Poet of the Year.

Laura’s artistic accomplishments are equally impressive. She’s had eighty-five original pieces exhibited and eleven published. Her work has been displayed in venues like the VMFA Studio School, Haverhill Public Library and Barcode.

The Barcode exhibit featured thirty-six pieces of Laura’s artwork during the month of February in 2016. Four pieces were sold over the course of opening weekend, and the exhibition was sponsored by Bacardi.

Part of all sale proceeds from Laura’s creative works is donated to charity. She donates to the National Federation of the Blind for her poetry sales and the VCU Massey Cancer Center for art sales. Additional information about Laura and her work can be found by logging onto her web-site at http://bluerosecreations.wix.com/bluerose.

As a person with low vision and blindness, Laura hopes to inspire other creative people to never allow anything to hinder them from reaching for the stars and accomplishing their dreams If you were to ask her about her creative successes, she would tell you that the difficult is but the work of the moment, and the impossible takes a little longer.