ASK by Amanda Baker

ASK has a fascinating concept. Amanda Baker has published poems (and song lyrics) she wrote starting at age fourteen and continuing up through her early thirties. This is an autobiography, but one that doesn’t include details of travel or family or friends. Instead it shows the author’s inner thoughts. In the end it is a very unique and interesting picture of a person.

Here is the first stanza of a reaction to a relationship that didn't work out when Amanda was fourteen. The work is entitled “Maybe.”

Maybe I’m not in your dreams, but you’re in mine

Maybe I’m not good enough, but I’ll be fine

Maybe you’re just scared you’ll fall in love again

Maybe that is why we can no longer be friends

Here is the first stanza of a poem about love Amanda wrote at age thirty-two. It is entitled “End With Love Reprise.”

This love sees the broken

The withered

The uncertain

This love accepts that space you’re in

I was there too

And that is how I am able to love

It is clear there is a greater sophistication in the work of the woman compared to the work of the teenager, but the search for understanding and meaning in relationships remains the same.

At age twenty-seven, Amanda wrote “Who To Be,” a search for her own identity. Here are the first two stanzas.

Slowly. You can’t hear me.

Softly. Speaking lines

Cautiously.

Parallel to scattered feet

Confused. Sparking mixtures.

Aloof. To signals that just

Prelude

To the next chapter of our youth.

These words show the conscious effort the author is still making to find herself.

Amanda Baker’s work is both personal and brave. I recommend ASK to anyone who enjoys learning the thoughts of a girl as she grows into a woman.