First and foremost, I would like to thank everyone for taking the time to read this.
As a disabled Marine Corps veteran (and veterans of any service), it is often "frowned upon" for thoughts and feelings that are emotionally related, to be talked about. Constantly stuffing them deep down inside, we hope to not relive those moments. What we often fail to realize, is how harmful this can be to our community of veterans.
In September of 2018, something happened one evening while I was laying in bed with my daughter. I had these words that I couldn't get out of my head, and they continued to repeat.
It's nightfall
And the only thing that you can see
Is what your mind allows you to imagine
As the darkness creeps over top of me
I wasn't totally positive what these words meant at the time, but I decided to write them down on a note in my phone. Much later that evening, I reopened that note, and decided to try to continue to work through those words and see what happened. That night at the age of 36, and with no prior knowledge of my poetry writing ability, I wrote my first poem called DR3AM. I was shocked (to say the least) at what I had allowed myself to do, moving past that prior stigma of "we don't wear our hearts on our sleeves."
Now, here I am almost 2 years later, in the process of finishing up a book at the recommendation of quite a few close friends, and family. It's been a journey, and quite difficult emotionally sometimes, but I feel like I finally have something that can be worthwhile to anyone who will take the time to read it. I've added poems that I've written for fellow military members, using a system that I created for them to give me ideas, and then developed with emotions that we share. I've collaborated on a couple of poems, and then I've reached out to some of these same people, and got original art work that is going to be in the book as well.
Which brings me to the reason for this GoFundMe. I am using this platform as an option to pre-sale the book, that I am going to be releasing on September 1, 2020. If you feel so inclined, with a $15 dollar donation, you would get a copy of Poetry From the Mind of a Warrior. If you make a $25 dollar donation, you would receive a signed copy with a personalized note. Anyone that donates by August 20, 2020 will be recognized on a "Thank You" page in the book. Those that wish to donate anonymously will be recognized under an "Anonymous Donor" section with a "*" to represent them individually.
Please, PLEASE, be sure to send me a message with your name and address, if you have donated anything over $15, so that I can assure that you receive your copy. GoFundMe has a messaging option, or you can email me at [email redacted].
Thank you!
Adam Ayotte
A.K.A.
As a disabled Marine Corps veteran (and veterans of any service), it is often "frowned upon" for thoughts and feelings that are emotionally related, to be talked about. Constantly stuffing them deep down inside, we hope to not relive those moments. What we often fail to realize, is how harmful this can be to our community of veterans.
In September of 2018, something happened one evening while I was laying in bed with my daughter. I had these words that I couldn't get out of my head, and they continued to repeat.
It's nightfall
And the only thing that you can see
Is what your mind allows you to imagine
As the darkness creeps over top of me
I wasn't totally positive what these words meant at the time, but I decided to write them down on a note in my phone. Much later that evening, I reopened that note, and decided to try to continue to work through those words and see what happened. That night at the age of 36, and with no prior knowledge of my poetry writing ability, I wrote my first poem called DR3AM. I was shocked (to say the least) at what I had allowed myself to do, moving past that prior stigma of "we don't wear our hearts on our sleeves."
Now, here I am almost 2 years later, in the process of finishing up a book at the recommendation of quite a few close friends, and family. It's been a journey, and quite difficult emotionally sometimes, but I feel like I finally have something that can be worthwhile to anyone who will take the time to read it. I've added poems that I've written for fellow military members, using a system that I created for them to give me ideas, and then developed with emotions that we share. I've collaborated on a couple of poems, and then I've reached out to some of these same people, and got original art work that is going to be in the book as well.
Which brings me to the reason for this GoFundMe. I am using this platform as an option to pre-sale the book, that I am going to be releasing on September 1, 2020. If you feel so inclined, with a $15 dollar donation, you would get a copy of Poetry From the Mind of a Warrior. If you make a $25 dollar donation, you would receive a signed copy with a personalized note. Anyone that donates by August 20, 2020 will be recognized on a "Thank You" page in the book. Those that wish to donate anonymously will be recognized under an "Anonymous Donor" section with a "*" to represent them individually.
Please, PLEASE, be sure to send me a message with your name and address, if you have donated anything over $15, so that I can assure that you receive your copy. GoFundMe has a messaging option, or you can email me at [email redacted].
Thank you!
Adam Ayotte
A.K.A.