Since it is the close of another year, I thought I would post my thoughts today.

First of all, I want to say “thank you” to the readers of Raven’s Wing Poetry. Many of you who have visited RWP since its inception in 2008 have watched me emerge and grow as a poet. You have been honest with me about my work, and that honesty has helped me strive to write better and better. I have come a long way since the first poem on this blog, and I will continue to challenge myself and grow further as a poet with each new work that I write.

On that same note, I wanted to let you know that your feedback is welcome and ALWAYS appreciated. Besides God, my fiance, my muse, and my family, my readers and hearers are what keep me going. Although I may not have time to respond personally to every comment, please know that I *do* read all of them and in many cases, am warmed in my heart by them. You have told me that you find my poems arresting, vivid, brave, engaging, and spiritual, as well as dark, unsettling, and troubled at times. If that all is true, then I am doing my job as a poet: to engage; to communicate; to offer different ways of seeing and feeling; and perhaps on a spiritual level, to help others “find their way back home”. I encapsulate all of this with a quote from Jim Morrison: “I write like this to seize you.”

Now, to the future. I plan in 2010 to redesign RWP to be better aligned with one of my personal goals as a poet — to reach more readers and hearers with my work. A cleaner design is planned for the site, which should hopefully be more aesthetic, less cluttered, and increase readability for visitors. The design will not only support my blogging, but also booking and schedules of my live performances and distribution of my published, printed materials. Additionally, I plan implement ways to stay connected with my audience (this may include features such as a mailing list) once the site has been redesigned.

In gratitude to the poetry scene that helped me begin my current life as a poet, I also plan to continue posting poetry and related events on this site, primarily those occurring in the Central Ohio area, to continue to assist the development of poetry in Columbus, Ohio and surrounding areas. I will also post other poetry events on this site as I am able.

2009 has been a year of challenges, development, and the facing of personal difficulties for me and my loved ones. Through all of this, as well as my other commitments and responsibilities, my art remains a very high priority to me. I will continue to devote as much time as possible to it, and by extension, RWP. I only ask for your patience as RWP unfolds and grows into a proverbial swan in the early months of 2010.

Please know that I am always reachable via comment moderation or email. THANK YOU ALL for accompanying me on this awesome journey through 2008 and 2009. May your 2010 be a year that is happy, healthy, blessed, artistic, and above all, infused with meaning and purpose.

In closing, I leave you with a stanza from William Blake’s poem “Auguries of Innocence”:

“To see a world in a grain of sand,
And heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palms of your hand
And eternity in an hour.”

Slàinte!

-Nicole Nicholson
Founder, Raven’s Wing Poetry