[Insert Pinocchio voice here] “I’m a real boy!”

Well folks, as of today, I am a published writer! The lovely folks over at Burningword Literary Journal have seen fit to give two of my poems a home in their July 1 issue. I literally squealed when I opened the email.

Part of my excitement comes from the fact that these two poems are probably my favorites of the ones I have written. The first, “Swallowing sounds like boiling water,” started out as a response to remarks that I should “settle down” and learn how to be a good little housewife (I’m paraphrasing a bit). However, it became something that I have needed to say for some time but that I hadn’t found the words for: an explanation for why I don’t want to be a mother yet and a response to the pressures that come with that wedding ring. I read it at an open mic not too long ago, and my poetry professor from undergrad, a woman whose work and teaching abilities I respect ten thousand fold, told me that it needed to be published. The universe listened to you, Kelly!

And the second, “Farmland,” is another one of those poems that began during a drive, this one between home and school. It’s full of some of those same feelings as the first, but it’s more of a personal letter to a loved one than anything.

These two poems are incredibly personal and raw — I hope you like them. Now excuse me while I go jump up and down excitedly for a bit.