> I have been thinking for awhile about what I should do about some poetry I wrote over a year ago. You see, someday I am going to publish a book of my poetry. However, I am now debating with myself as to whether or not I should include some of my poetry.
>
> It's like this...before the end of last year, as most of you know, I by no means lived a Christian life. Sure, I was a Christian...I've been one since I was eight, but my point is that I didn't really understand the whole aspect of God and Christianity and everything...I didn't feel close to God, so I just never went to church. Because of that and the fact that I was dealing with some other problems, my poetry from that time is rather bleak. I'm not just talking about sad poems, either. They're at times horrifying, and while none of them mentions God in a bad way, they're not very positive anyway. They're about stuff like abuse, depression, and...well...evil.
>
> I have tried denying it, but I can't...these depressing poems are by far the most soul-wrenching, GREATEST poems I have ever written. I read some today, in fact, and it left me near tears and feeling like I'd been punched in the gut. My question is this: When the time comes for me to publish a book of my poetry, what do I do with the poems written during when I was depressed? Do I put them into the book, since they are good, honest, and well-written? Or do I leave them out because they are very angry, depressing, and at times vulgar? Should I edit them, taking away the intended meaning of the poem, and THEN publish it? Do I throw those poems away? Do I publish TWO books, one of positive poetry from nowdays, and another volume full of painful poems?

> ~Den-"very worried about this"Kara

Wow - that subject line definitely caught my eye. So I will start off by saying this: DO NOT throw your poems away. *Especially* since they are the best poems you've wrote.

I personally wouldn't edit any of my poems after I considered them finished. I have a feeling that's not what you want to do, either. I think perhaps the easiest solution to this would be to include them in the book but write an introduction that explained what you wanted your reader to know (about those particular poems, your life at that time, whatever). Writing two separate books works too, of course, but I think that either book wouldn't give as accurate a "picture" as they would combined.

I would love to read some of your poems - you can email me if you'd like. And I won't get scared.

Ga"Everyone is born a poet - we just never grew out of it."halia