Angelina Carlson cannot see the words she types when she composes a poem, but she can definitely feel them.

Carlson, 29, has been blind since shortly after her birth. Born three months premature, she was placed in an incubator with too much oxygen and her retinas were burned.

She started writing poetry about two years ago as a means to express herself, including the frustration that comes with her disability.

Her poem "Christmas Day" is about not being able to see the lights and tree.

"Christmas is really hard for me because of all the things I can't see," she said.

Despite the fact that she does not have much experience writing poetry, she said that writing "Christmas Day" came naturally.

"I sat down one day and it just came out of me. It was like nothing I've ever experienced," she said.

She submitted the poem to the Web site poetry.com and has been invited to the 22nd annual Poetry Convention and Symposium in Las Vegas in July. Carlson said she was surprised to receive the invitation.

"I didn't think anything would come out of it. It's amazing to me. I feel very honored and very humbled," she said.

In addition to writing poetry, Carlson competes in running events in the Special Olympics. She also loves to snowshoe, swim and sing karaoke.

Carlson lives in Pocatello with her husband, Robert, and her two stepchildren, Lisa, 11, and Nathan, 8; and children, Alec, 5, and Tyler, 3.