I can’t ever remember not wanting to write. I have at least 20 short stories I wrote when I was a child. They’re awful but they’re precious too. It’s been a wild ride, finally writing a book, then 7 more and having one win second best in Science Fiction published 2024, by BookFest. None of us get what we want. Many of us get far less than what we deserve but we all have just one life. There are opportunities we may not see, but never stop looking.
Seventy is not as far away as I’d like it to be but I’m still here and I’m still dreaming. What er 2025 brings, I know I’ll face it and do my best to be the best I can be.
I wrote this in 1996 and still mean every word.
Line by Line
Sleeping curled upon my lap,
while rocking to and fro,
is my one and only child of flesh,
born not many years ago.
He is not my first born,
for deep within me lives,
all that are my hopes and dreams,
the words I long to give.
I’ve written down all that makes me, me
What I’ve seen, wished for, my every goal,
the words I’ve written,
are the children of my soul.
I love words, sung, written, spoken,
their passion and their power.
Mankind could never have come so far,
for it is words which makes us tower.
Above all creatures, mankind towers,
in our ability to leave a trace,
of what we’ve learned, where we’ve been,
that time cannot erase.
I live for my children,
my son and my words too.
I want them to live on,
and be proud of what they do.
In silence I pray,
for the skill, and for the time.
Time to write my thoughts, and my hopes,
to live out my life, line by line.
Debra Zannelli 8/96
Debra Zannelli Author 