Hilton woman finds the poet within

Naoma Ennis, local poet, in front of her 1800s lakeside home in Hilton, with the awards she's won in the past year for her poetry. Accompanying her is her dog, Tex.

Hilton woman
finds the poet within

Hilton woman recognized by International Society of Poets for her newfound talent

Naoma Ennis carries a denim-look composition book with her wherever she goes. In it, she writes about the people, places and things she observes throughout the day. In time, she weaves her thoughts into poetry - poetry that just about anyone can relate to.

Ennis hasn't been a poet for long but she's always loved words. When she was a child, she and her mother, Mary Satterwhite, would play word games. They'd pick a category, like trees, and have conversations about different trees with the rule that they couldn't talk about any that had been mentioned before.

About a year ago, her friend e-mailed her a link to a poetry contest sponsored by the International Society of Poets. "You should try this," wrote her friend. So Ennis read up on the contest and decided to give it a try. Her first attempt, "The Snowflake and Me," won her a giant cup-shaped trophy that now holds her mail. "Outstanding Achievement in Poetry, International Society of Poets, August 21, 2005," it reads. The award-winning poem begins:

You are so lovely, I must sigh,

You come from up above so high

Lovely snowflake floating by

So near to God up in the sky.

"Snow fascinates me," said Ennis, who was born and raised in Texas. She and her husband, Billy Joe, moved to Rochester in 1996 so he could work for Eastman Kodak Company. Ennis is trained as an executive secretary, but has worked as a school bus driver since 1989. She currently drives for the Spencerport Central School District and has received first place as a special needs bus driver three years in a row in the Bus Safety Rodeo. Both her work as a secretary and as a bus driver have influenced her poetry writing. "I'm a real stickler for spelling and punctuation," she said. "I've been asked to review others' poems and it's a real turnoff when there's a misspelling."

When writing her own poetry, Ennis doesn't worry so much about rhyming. "I want my poetry to have meaning, and to be something that the average person can understand and appreciate," she said. Her poetry also communicates her strong faith in God. "Sometime ago, I became very upset by the obscenities I was hearing all the time and began to concentrate on writing about God's four-letter words - work, pray, love...," she said. "I refer to Him in my poems because He's as much a part of me as my arms and legs."

It's understandable then, why "The Master Artist" is Ennis' favorite out of the four dozen or so poems she's written so far. "I didn't even try to write this poem. It just flew off my pen," she said.
Most of Ennis' poems, however, don't just fly off her pen. "I have to think about the words before putting them down," she said. When Hurricane Katrina hit, she gave much thought to what she could do to help the victims before writing the poem "Help!" "It was cathartic," she said. "I couldn't decide what I should do to help. Writing the poem made me realize that I needed to send money down there through my church - that if everyone takes care of their own, the job will get done."

"Help us, somebody! Please!"

Standing in water up to her knees

A mother so desperate her kids to save.

Three days with no water or food made her rave

At the red tape and rules that were holding it back

From all the survivors suffering such lack.

Ennis said that poetry has changed her life. "I have more sensitivity to others now," she said. When someone at work is getting married or has lost a loved one, she writes the person a poem that is personal to him or her. "I thought this was a fluke, me writing poetry, but then people started asking me for more," she said.

It's only within the past few months that Ennis has realized that she has a talent and has accepted that she can write poetry that people want to read. "I feel it's something I should do, so I'll keep writing regardless of the outcome," she said.

Within the past year, Ennis has also received a "Poet of Merit" award from the Poetry Convention and Symposium. Next, she hopes to put together a book of her poems. "I almost have enough," she said. "I need about 15 more, which I should have by the end of the summer." Her idea is to have a book of her own poems along with poems she's enjoyed reading, such as those written by Longfellow, Wadsworth and Edward Rowland Sill. She would also include a few words about how the poetry has inspired her.

Ennis' current work is inspired by appreciation for the rainbow of colors. To read some of Ennis' poetry in its entirety, visit www.poetry.com and type in her name.