Firstly, let me answer the title since it’s clearly very clickbaity: I posted a bunch of poems pretty consistently for five years. Only in the last few months, for reasons I don’t fully understand, did things begin to take off.

I woke up to this notification the other day and it took me by surprise. I’ve been writing poetry much longer than that, but five years ago I decided to post it publicly. It was really scary to do. I remember it like it was yesterday… [the image on the screen goes wavy and it fades to white.]

For four years and seven months, things moved slowly. I’d get plenty of lovely comments and feedback but my work never went viral.

I emailed off to lovely artists like The Wizard of Barge and asked to do collaborations and to my delight a few of them said yes.

I had singers, teachers, parents etc reach out to me, now and then, to ask if they could use my work or if I had something to buy. And each time I’d agree and say, “Nah, I might make something in the future.”

I would post into groups and it was all very hit and miss.

Then, just five months ago, things changed. My page began to grow. None of it was in my control and I’m just as confused by it as anyone else.

And now, [back in today] I have enough arrogance to be writing a monthly newsletter.

Things haven’t really changed except for numbers on my phone screen. The biggest difference today is the rate of connection. In the past, I might have gotten a message every few weeks or months. Now it’s every few days. Sometimes I actively have to stop myself dwelling on just how meaningful some of these interactions have been. If not, I’d cry.

Besides 5 years of Facebook, another anniversary I celebrated this month was my book’s one-year birthday. “Poem Boy: Simple Poems to Make You Smile”.

I released my book one year ago, just with the intent of being able to say “yeah” when people asked me if they could buy anything. I didn’t expect to sell very many.

Given that my Facebook page has grown a lot in recent months, it might not surprise you that I’ve sold more copies recently than I did in the past. It surprises me though.

The way monetisation is set up, I don’t make all that much money on the sales but I think the price is basically fair and I get a little.

I’m not massively driven by money. I just want to make silly rhymes and connect with people.

In other news:

August sees the end of an amazing summer holiday (I’m a teacher by trade). I’m actually back at school already. This year, I’ve taken on a new class in high school. I won’t go into detail but it’s a big challenge and I’m excited (and nervous).

There’s nothing really on the horizon for me. I have been asked in recent weeks for my poems to be used in a few magazines and newsletters. I also did an interview for The Journal of Wordplay. So keep an eye out for that. But I don’t have much news to share.

That said, I wake up to messages quite often and say yes to every opportunity I can. So perhaps we’ll be all surprised before this time next month.

To end my newsletter this month, here’s an exclusive poem. If you’re reading it, thank you for following along.

Have a brilliant month.

Aled Harris (Poem Boy)

It’s also home to a million frogs. When I lived in northern China there was a park which had frogs every evening in the summer. Loads and loads of them. It became a hobby for my son and me to go take photos of them. He still absolutely loves frogs two years later.

I’ve attached a video of how I go about it. I’ve got a special macro lens with an off-board flash. I use a big diffuser to soften the light. Then it’s just lots of patience chasing frogs about. Sometimes they wait politely for their portrait to be taken, other times they bounce (literally).

Here is a (rather silly) poem I wrote a while ago. I know now that a toad is a frog. 🐸

I’ll be putting a poll in my channel after sending this to see if people would prefer monthly or weekly updates. If you’re somehow reading this but not in my channel, you should join it! I post poems in there that I don’t want to put on my main page and offload decision making onto polls there!

Thank you for reading, watching, and following along.

PB

That said, this week has been amazing. We spent most the week in Krabi, having boat rides and hiking up mountains. Loads to do and see. Very happy.

Then we met up with my mother in law and her husband in Phuket. And now we have a big hotel penthouse room that we’re all sharing that has a private pool and a kitchen. It’s very nice. Right in the middle of Patong which is not very nice but fairly interesting. It’s amazing how this holiday keeps changing pace.

For this week’s newsletter, I’ve included a very relevant poem that explains why I’m putting on weight here.

Have a lovely week!

Pb

Well, this week has been a good one. As I’m writing this, I’m driving from Phuket to Krabi in Thailand. The roads are extremely twisty, weaving along jungly hillsides. The landscapes are gorgeous and I’m trying to balance go much I look down at my phone.

We’ve said goodbye to my sister and her family and are planning to have a quiet few days before my mother-in-law comes to join us in Thailand. And when I say “a quiet few days” I actually mean waking up every day at 5am to take photos of birds, bugs and lizards, swimming until my son gets bored then doing a day trip.

Something interesting/crazy/scary that happened this week is that one of my spider poems went completely viral. This caused my page leapt from 17k followers to 22k. It’s insane and I’m very grateful. It’s quite funny to leave your phone in the hotel and go out on holiday activities - then come back to these crazy numbers. It still has zero effect on actual life. I want to stop focusing on numbers but it’s hard.

A few bonus Qs and As:

Favourite video game?

I love strategy games like civilization, RPGs, and FPSs. Unfortunately, with a full time job, a son, and a million other hobbies, I just don’t have time to play.

Most inspirational place?

I find inspiration in nature. Rivers, lakes, hills, oceans. Any time I’m in nature, I find a poem. It’s not really a singular place.

Favourite poem I’ve written:

This is one of the few very serious poems I’ve written. It’s by far one of my favourites. It’s very personal to me too.

Thanks very much for all your support. As ever. Have a good week,

Poem Boy

So far, we’ve been to see elephants at a sanctuary, swam in the pool, played on the beach and been to a night market. Tomorrow, as I’m writing this, we’ll be at a water park. It’s very nice to be this kind of busy. The kind without stress and anxiety attached.

I’ve not done much writing yet so let me attach an old poem this week. This is one of my all time favourites - but I’ve noticed it doesn’t do so well with my new audience on fb compared to some others.

I’m definitely going to write some more in the coming weeks. I’m just too busy having fun!

I’ll post an “article” here each week. It will be rambling and a poem that isn’t posted online.

If that sounds good to you, please leave your email address and you’ll get my nonsense direct to your inbox.

That way, you’ll never miss any bit of silliness I put out into the world.