There she is, right first row on Sunday mornings at UCC, the lady of many hats, this past Easter wearing an original design, a dark pink floppy straw number with teeny decorative Easter eggs dangling from its wide brim. She is a traveler and a collector, of hats, handbags and backpacks.
But, it is probably her email moniker, mepoet2, that most succinctly reflects the greatest passion of the illimitable Karla Wright. Karla is a poet and proud of that destiny. She thinks she may have inherited her talent from a grandfather that she never really knew, although she has read and appreciated his works. In high school, the encouragement of an English teacher propelled the direction of her writing to creating poetry. Then, as now, she favored a flowing, free verse style.
Karla moved to Florida from Dallas in 1991. A member of the Texas State Poetry Society, she gathered inspiration from simpatico teams in the poetry groups she joined here. She has been published in Texas, Florida, Australia and Canada. Recently highlighted in Senior Voice America, a monthly publication circulated in local libraries, she is one of an even dozen of “The Dark Horse Poets,” authors of Whispers of the Waters. The book is available at the Market Space in Clearwater and through Barnes & Noble Nook and Amazon Kindle. Karla also enjoys participation in a group at Largo library called Poets Live! She is particularly excited about her aspiration and challenge to join the National League of American Pen Women, a nonprofit organization of professional women in arts, letters and music founded in 1897.
An adventurous spirit and love of music and reading have undoubtedly contributed to her poetic achievement. Leaving home at 21, Karla journeyed alone to Australia where she accepted a position at Sydney’s Botanical Gardens. Two years later, she would be working in Surrey, southwest of London, at the former home of Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Her travels have taken her to Mexico, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Alaska, Hawaii, New York, Charleston, SC, national parks and the Canadian Rockies.
Karla first came to Unity in 2011 and has enjoyed every moment of the ministry, the music and friendships formed. UCC, for the former occasional Methodist, immediately, felt like home. Now, nearing retirement at Franklin Templeton Investments, with enthusiastic confidence, she looks forward to finding a supplemental part time job of about 20 hours a week.
This example of Karla’s poetry was selected for the impact of its imagery.
The Old Torn Whiskey Jeans
“Worn in the saddle herding cattle
The dusty trail staining the denim
Sun faded from the long days riding
Over paths of rocks and cactus
Sand flying up a storm blinding vision
The old torn whiskey jeans
Un-mended from wear comfort handles survival
Trademark buttons faded on the pockets
Belt loops stretched from leather threaded through them
High in the saddle they protect the rider
When the days end and the saloon is the end of the trail
They get tossed in the wash of whiskey.”