Tag: coming together

Community

I just want to apologize to everyone for the long hiatus. Things have been just crazy with life in general. I am sure that you heard my story of how I got started in poetry. I started writing in middle school and have been in love with it ever since. I use it mostly as an outlet… a way for me to try to get my feelings and thoughts out on paper so I had it somewhere instead of just in my head.

Another reason why I enjoy writing poetry so much is that it gives me a way to connect with others. I really just happened to stumble across Deep Underground Poetry and thanks to a friend of mine who also joined. I am thankful to that friend because Deep Underground Poetry has become a community. It has given me a chance to connect with other writers and it is an environment I feel safe in to be myself and share my work. Here is a quote by Mary Karr who describes it the best. “Poetry is for me Eucharistic. You take someone else’s suffering into your body, their passion comes into your body, and in doing that you commune, you take communion, you make a community with others.” That is what poetry really means to me, especially in the poetry community.

This post is dedicated to the Deep Underground Poetry community and to Bluevelvete who’s work I have been following. The following poem is a competition I participated in and received runner up. Thank you for being an inspiration and giving me the push and drive I need to keep writing. I thank each and everyone from the bottom of my heart. This community has been welcoming and has welcomed me with open arms.

Soft like Velvet

Just like flower petals you open up.
When life is feeling empty and
Extremely heavy you are the cup
That always remains full. You hand

Me parts of your soul and spirit
When mine is giving up. Your words
Bring hope. They are my one ticket
To the light in the darkness. Like birds

You fly me to a safer place. So my
Darling, I hope you never stop letting
The words float across the page die
Away. You are the soft and safe netting,

Protecting everyone. You are the ying
To my yang and the sweet to my sour.
You are like my miracle in the spring.
So I am thankful for you in every hour.

When Natural Disasters Strike

I know that I have talked about storms in one of my posts from last year, but nevertheless I am going to talk about something far beyond that…natural disasters. We have all dealt with natural disasters at some point in our lives whether it is an earthquake, a hurricane, a fire or something along those lines. When these types of disasters tend to strike, I know a lot of us tend to panic, but what is amazing is that we all come together, whether it is to help or just be there for each other. Nevertheless, we should be coming together anyways as a nation.

I know that it is nothing to joke about, but about a month after I was born was when the big fire in ’91 happened in Northern California and about a month after my brother was born is when the big earthquake in ’89 happened. It is not something I want our family continue on with when the next generation has kids. I am bringing you to my point which is that there was wildfires in Northern California this month in October. Everyone came together to help fight it, whether it was being one of the first responders, the people who came afterwards and everyone else who spent their time helping. Daryn Kagan says the following about those kind of people. “Bad things do happen in the world, like war, natural disasters, disease. But out of those situations always arise stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things.” I honestly do not think that it should take having a natural disaster to help people because people should be helping other people anyways.

Let me move on further into my point is that when natural disasters strike, it should be a wake up call to us because as humans it is our responsibility to take care of this earth. After all, we live on this earth and we are its caretakers. That leads me into one of my quotes right here by Lora A.R. who says “Natural disasters are a wake up call to humanity that they should stop fucking with the earth!” So yeah, it should definitely be a wake up call to us and to stop messing with this earth because we may not have it for much longer. I cannot help but think of a song Pink and Kenny Chesney did together called “Setting the World On Fire.” Some of the lyrics go like this. “We were strikin’ the matches right down to the ashes/Setting the world on fire, setting the world on fire.” In honor of the wildfires that happened in Northern California, I wrote this poem, which also includes an image to go along with it. Enjoy!!

Catching On Fire

The sunlight shines orange like it is caught in flames
And embers that glow. Maybe this is the end of
The world as we know it. Mother Nature’s claims
And hold on us is strong. She will push and shove
Us to fight against it because isn’t that what we do?
Fight and defend this world that is ours? We cannot
Our earth be taken away. We are sitting on every pew
Praying to the gods and to never give up. We caught
The world in an apocalypse, but we cannot stay there.
We cannot let Mother Nature punish us for making
Mistakes and committing sin. We should always swear
And promise to protect our lush nature. We are waking
Up those who have slept their lives away in a deep
Slumber. We are protectors of every piece and bit
Of rich soil that our roots grow in. We try to keep
Our world away from all that tries to harm it.