Steve Breaston fancies words.

Out of words come sentences. Sentences are crafted into stanzas and over time, into original poems that pay homage to his roots.

For the former Michigan wide receiver, writing is an outlet. He has put jumbled thoughts into orderly words since the seventh grade, finding inspiration not only from his own upbringing, but also from everyday experiences of others.

Much of Breaston's work is inspired by his hometown North Braddock, Penn., an eastern suburb of Pittsburgh. Once a proud scrappy blue-collar town, the collapse of the steel industry decades ago coupled with a crack cocaine epidemic in the early 1990s drastically changed the way people viewed a place Breaston returns to on a regular basis.

For Breaston, the tough times didn't change how he feels about where he came from. Where others saw a troubled city, he cherishes memories of Whiffle ball games and trips to the corner store along with the faces of people that helped shaped his childhood.

"It's tough because you know the problems, but you see all the smiling faces and you see all the people and they're making due with the situation they're in," the fourth-year Arizona Cardinals receiver said Thursday. "A lot of the reason why I'm here is because of those people back there. I've been blessed with coaches and other people in that area and they've helped me to this point."

Breaston recently collaborated on a project with former Michigan basketball player David Merritt, who started an apparel company last year driven to celebrate happiness and community.

Merritt asked Breaston to construct an original piece that would inspire an unique T-Shirt design to be part of Merritt's company's summer line. Breaston wnet to work, finishing a poem he had started that focused on his hometown's positive aspects.

I fight through because it reminds me I'm in reach of what's under my eye lids My dreams The reason why there are more than 11 on my team for my Little League teammates in Heaven know what I mean And by any means, I will show the light of my birthplace - a community that showed me the victor is not always the one who stands in first place; the basis of why I'm here in the first place For these memories are what I'm worth

Merritt's company, I Miss You, Inc., is built on a mission of making others feel special and on community pride. When Merritt read the poem Breaston had written for the campaign, he knew he had something he would work with.

More importantly, he read a piece of original poetry he knew others could relate to.

"I said I wanted something real, something about his community and once he sent it to me, I knew this was it. This was perfect," Merritt said. "It was just a perfect representation of how he felt about his community.

"But Steve really cares about people and that's what we try to do with IMU - really care about people. So that's what made him perfect for his - not only because he can write so well, but because he cares so much for his community."

Breaston uses simple words and phrases to give others a window into where he comes from. He's often asked why he doesn't write more about football, which has vaulted Breaston onto a bigger stage. Breaston said he would rather focus on his journey to the NFL, embracing the hardships and experiences that have paved his road through Michigan and to professional football.

At times, complete poems are constructed over a short time as Breaston writes what pops into his head. On other occasions, he'll go back to unfinished poems and add to them.

Through his poems, he uses words to construct images of his community, celebrating a collection of success stories - both his and others -  that help make the town he still considers home special. Breaston makes regular visits to North Braddock, where he runs an annual football camp in addition to helping at-risk kids through his charitable foundation.

"You go out and you do what you do and you give back and you feel like you're doing it for your community," Breaston said. "Everyone looks up to me because I play football, but it's not just about my dreams - this is for everybody."

Once Breaston begins training camp later this month, he'll put his writing on hold. He's coming off a season when he started six games, making 55 catches for 712 yards and three touchdowns. At times, he'll find himself jotting ideas down in his playbook, saving them for later when he's got time to finish a poem that he then adds to his collection.

In time, he hopes to compile a collection of his writing, finding a similar level of satisfaction from poetry as he does on the football field.

"It's a gift I enjoy," Breaston said. "I've always been someone who lives in the moment. When the task at hand is football, I'm really into my books and my plays, but I'm also a person that it's not always about football.

"When I have my down time, I don't want to be hearing about X's and O's or my patterns - I want to get away from that and that's where my writing comes in."

Jeff Arnold covers sports for AnnArbor.com and can be reached at (734) 623-2554 or by email at jeffarnold@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @jeffreyparnold.