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May 2025
HP Poet: Todd Sommerville
Age: 60
Country: USA


Question 1: A warm welcome to the HP Spotlight, Todd. Please tell us about your background?

Todd Sommerville: "I was born and lived in Fenton, Mi until I was 8 years old then moved to Florida and on to N. Carolina at age 15. I've called N. Carolina home ever since. Worked most of my life in the furniture Industry. Literally from sweeping floors at 16 to programming CNC Machines and designing furniture by the end of my career, and every job in between. I have one son named George, 27, who is the pride of my life and a talented musician and song writer."


Question 2: How long have you been writing poetry, and for how long have you been a member of Hello Poetry?

Todd Sommerville: "I have dabbled at writing both short stories and poetry since I was in grade school, but didn't start writing seriously until I was about 50 years old after the breakup of my marriage. Sadness, depression, and copious amounts of alcohol just seemed to bring out the poet in me. (Does it get anymore cliche?) LOL.

Anyway I was writing constantly during that time, even self-published a short poetry book (A Relationship in Verse) available on Amazon. (Shameless Plug), not really it was mostly drunken crap even though I was proud of it at the time.

Anyway to make a long story a little less long, I spent about a year getting myself together, quit drinking, and repaired the relationship with the girlfriend I have today. I started writing seriously again about a year ago. I think I started posting on HP about September of last year. And started my You Tube Channel in November, which I absolutely love doing."



Question 3: What inspires you? (In other words, how does poetry happen for you).

Todd Sommerville: "What inspires me? Well, originally I would say Heartache and Romance, once again (Very Cliche) but I think looking at the world differently, and finding some inner peace has allowed me to be more creative in my poetry. I look more towards nature and solitude for inspiration as well as trying to interject some humor into my poetry as well."


Question 4: What does poetry mean to you?

Todd Sommerville: "Poetry is my outlet, it is my voice. As a shy quiet guy I always found it hard to express myself verbally. A problem I don't have when writing."


Question 5: Who are your favorite poets?

Todd Sommerville: "Honestly I'm not well versed in the classics. I've been more or less self-educated, I dropped out of school at 16. But I do remember reading Robert Frost when I was a kid and I loved Poe's stories, Annabel Lee being my favorite. But to be real some of the poets right here on HP are some of the best I've ever read. Shout out to Rob Rutledge, Anais Vionet, Thomas W Case, Emma, Immortality, Abbott J Hardison, You, Traveler, and a couple dozen others. I hate leaving anybody out."


Question 6: What other interests do you have?

Todd Sommerville: "My other interests? Traveling, riding motorcycles, neither of which I do nearly enough. And of course my you tube channel which I'm determined to make successful.

(Last Shameless Plug) https://www.youtube.com/@tsummerspoetry."



Carlo C. Gomez: “We would like to thank you Todd, we really appreciate you giving us the opportunity to get to know the person behind the poet! It is our pleasure to include you in this Spotlight series!”

Todd Sommerville: "Thanks for Honoring me with this spotlight. I hope I wasn't to boring or long winded HP is my go to place to get feedback on my poetry and inspiration for future writes.
Thanks So Much.
Todd"





Thank you everyone here at HP for taking the time to read this. We hope you enjoyed coming to know Todd a little bit better. We certainly did. It is our wish that these spotlights are helping everyone to further discover and appreciate their fellow poets. – Carlo C. Gomez

We will post Spotlight #28 in June!

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Him
I don't think you know
Just how much
I wish you would look at me
How you look at them
How you looked at him.
I wait for your poems daily
Your notes of absolute gold
And I wish
On every 11:11
For you
I'm not doing great without him, I miss my silly star :(
 Apr 30 PhantomDreamer
Liana
My mind tells me I deserve to bleed
That it’s okay that it hurts like hell
That it’s good that the blood won’t stop
Because the blood is mine
The blood is of the person who messed up in conversation
The blood is of the one who’s eyes are devastatingly like her father’s
Of the person who got to school 4 minutes late
And for the one who just sat there class while she knew that there was someone somewhere in pain
For the one who wasn’t there to help them

But my mind also asks me
If my blood is the same
as the three year old who’d play
with napkins and pens
Because creative and strange
Is far better
Than bored and average

My mind asks
If the skin that I tear open
Is the same skin
That the 7 year old’s tears poured down on
Because she was starting to understand
That her father’s behavior was not normal

And even though that ******* that is my head told me to my face
That I am unlovable
And that I deserve to bleed
It somehow had the nerve
To make me feel guilty for yet another thing

It told me I was hurting
the little girl who already
Was struggling

And it told me I was hurting
the grandma with grandkids on her lap
Of whom I’m threatening
Deprivation of snuggling

My mind said
That by doing that
I deserved to bleed and suffer even more

And as the pain starts
It asks me again
If it was just me that I’m hurting
I’m ok
I saw an Angel in my dream.
She said she would fulfill any wish I have.
"Should I make you the best ?"she asked.
"No,"said I.
"Just a little better than yesterday.
That will do."
that feeling.
you know the one.
all emotion is drained of your body and all worth is ****** away.
When you're so numb you can't be real, yet you feel every little thing that grazes your skin.
you feel tired, yet so overwhelmed and awake
and it hurts.
you cant escape
and it hurts.
that feeling of overwhelming upsetting forgetting and regretting.
your mind isnt your own, yet your body is undeniably so.
you cant even decode your own thoughts, for the mess they spew out is only to be just that, a mess.
your words come out as delirium, your heart racing and genuinely not functioning
everything
everywhere all at once.
like you have no mouth, yet must scream
have no control
incessantly and unequivocally continuous
that visceral, inexplicable feeling remaining, restraining
not just disorder, complete discord, chaos, absolute anarchy
inside the mind
and again this body remained still.

you couldn't possibly imagine could you?
of course not.
going through an episode
I don't often tell the truth
About what's inside me head
Though I lacked the skill in youth
I wished I'd end up dead.

All the voices deep inside
Echo throughout my brain
If the truth were not to hide
You may call me insane.

I used to be a smiley girl, happy all the time
Then you came into my world, and sold it for a dime.

Now I lie about my feelings, my thoughts, and all my pain
Because I was taught that I should never
Say what's going on inside my brain.

My mind rushes to the beat of the fastest drum
Unfortunately I'm afraid of what I have become.
No. Worse than that.
She loved you in every single one, just not ours.
She cared for me once in all my life when it benefitted her.
And cast you out when it was convenient to save you.
She loved us in all but one.
And we got the shortest straw...
 Apr 28 PhantomDreamer
Liana
“Are you okay?”

Sweetheart, I write poetry
And some kindhearted people said I write it well

That can only mean one thing
My mind is an unescapable hell

“Yeah, just tired”
Random thought
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