I think that's what a lot of novelists do: tell their own personal stories through a fictional framework, dressing it up so that no one except real friends to the author know how personal the stories actually are.
Anyway, it's great that you keep that. Journaling like that helps us in the moment and helps us remember the details later on. I do like the quote idea. I'll have to see if I can apply that to my own personal writing.
I've written many such fictions here, and enjoyed it.
I looked up that poem entirely. It's not in my Longfellow book so I had to search online. The Ladder of St. Augustine. That's a good poem and I enjoyed it. Thanks for the pointer to it!
You're welcome mate, that's what community is all about.