Hello, and thank you for taking the time and interest in reading my poetry. Softly, Gently has been in my drafts, unpublished and unshared for the last decade. All of the poems you're about to read are original and have been wrote, reflected upon, and revisited over the last ten years of my life. I first discovered my love for words while going through a period of time where I wasn't loving myself. Words, poetry, and writing in general became a private sanctuary of sorts that gave me the freedom to feel what I felt, say what I left unsaid, and believed in all the versions of my unbelievable. It took many more years of falling in and out of love with myself, my careers, and life to bring myself to the place I am now where I'm putting my words out into the world for readers like you to read. Softly, Gently gets it title from two different origins. The first being the words I aim to incorporate more of in my life; a softer, gentler approach to both adversity, stepping out of my comfort zones, and embracing the unknowns. The second, being two words that were often used to describe the quality of my dancing when I was a professional ballerina. That in itself is a completely different story, one that maybe...just maybe I'll find the words to share with you all in the future. Poetry isn't the only form of writing that's been in my drafts over the last decade, but it's the writing I feel ready to debut first.
Without further delay, please enjoy
Softly, Gently
-Alexandra Burman
