Tag: dup

Love That Destroyed Us

You know the feeling of falling in love? It is exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. It sometimes has the power and ability to destroy us. That is the type of love I will be talking about in this post. Love is a dangerous thing. That brings me to my first quote of this post. “Love is a dangerous weapon; it can either heal you or destroy you completely.” So in other words, love can either help and heal you or it can destroy and break you. It is one thing or another, not both. If you are lucky you will find someone who has the power to destroy you, but does not do so in the end. Hang onto that person because they are one of a kind. We all want to hurt someone, especially when they hurt or try to destroy you. They either do it accidentally or on purpose. The mature thing is to just walk away because as much as you want to hurt or destroy someone who did the same to you it is better to take the higher road. That leads me into my next quote. “Maturity is when you have the power to destroy someone who did you wrong, but you breathe, walk away, and let life take care of them.” In other words, it is better to let karma do its work.

This is going to be a short post, so I will conclude with one final quote and that will be it for this post. There is a reason why some relationships fail while others do not. That leads me into my final couple of quotes of this post. “Most relationships tend to fail. Not because of absence of love. Love is always present. It’s just that one loves too much and the other loves too little.” In the end, that is why love can destroy us. There is one more quote to wrap things up here. Anna Todd says “When you love people, you don’t let them destroy you along with themselves, you don’t allow them to drag you through the mud. You try to help them, try to save them, but the moment that your love is one-sided or selfish, if you keep trying, you are a fool.” I think that quote is self explanatory and sums up what this post is all about. I hope you enjoy the following poem which won me a competition I participated in on DUP.

Love as a One-Way Street

We were like embers in the night sky
Burning bright only for us to see, but
How is it that our signals got tangled?
In hindsight you were the wrong guy
For I wanted to get you out of the rut
You were stuck in while you handled

Me like a dynamite stick… too damn
Cautious and shut down a possibility
To rekindle what we lost in the fire.
You wanted to move on as I slammed
The door closed. I take no responsibility
For your happiness as I have no desire

To love someone who stopped loving
Me in return. You got your wish for
Me to stop trying. You may think this
Was all a game or that I was bluffing
Or that I was trying to even the score,
But the truth is that you lost and missed

Every chance. Our love was like a one-
Way street. I had to walk away with my
Head held high and with my love you
Destroyed because even with the sun
In my generous heart I could never try
To hurt yours that remains forever blue.


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.

Volcanoes

Sorry for taking another hiatus. However now that I am back for the time being I got a topic for this post. Volcanoes… I thought of this as I participated in a competition on DUP on the theme of volcanoes, especially inspired by the La Palma volcano. As a participant I received runner up for the poem I will share as the end of this post.

I think volcanoes can teach us a thing or two. One of the most important thing they can teach us about is the beginning of life. I feel like we nor this earth be in existence without volcanoes. I feel like they are the ones that gave birth to life. That leads me to my first quote of this post by Robert Gross. He says “Volcanoes are one way earth gives birth to itself.” In other words, earth comes from volcanoes and vice versa. I could go on and on about volcanoes, but I will conclude this post right here. Enjoy the following poem!

Flowing Lava

Luscious lava spilling from her center
Like an explosion. People run away
In terror but it is how this earth was
Built, from spilled lava and tremors
Like an earthquake. The earth sways
And tilts but somehow like a vase
Or a sailing ship we keep steady.

Lord Byron Tribute

It is time for another tribute post. This one is for Lord Bryon, whose birthday is right around the corner, January 22. I first came across Lord Byron through a book my mom gave me one year for my birthday in college. That poem that I came across and is one of his most well known poems (also happens to be one of my favorite poems today) is “She Walks In Beauty” (you can read the poem here). I will let my poem speak for itself and the poem did get runner up position for a contest I participated in last month on DUP. I hope that you all enjoy it!

She Is True Beauty

I see her standing there like a true vision.

How I wish I could meet her right at the
Water’s edge so captivated by her beauty

And true perfection. In some other world
She would be mine, but in this world she
Is fawned over by many others like some
Boyhood or girlhood fantasy. When she

Laughs like a musical melody others stop
To listen. With her smile she can light up

A dark room and with her eyes she can set
Fires. She walks in beauty like the silence
In the wind chimes, but no one knows her
True beauty on the inside and the strength

In her bones like the women who all came
Before her. No one knows the struggles she

Faces to be like the girls on the front of the
Magazine covers. She does not know that I
Am standing right here to catch her if she
Ever falls. She offers love and kindness.

She is like an angel who walks in beauty.

Game of Chess

I have never been particularly good at playing chess. It definitely requires concentration and strategy, after all it requires to win the game by check mating the king. That leads me to my first quote of this post by Garry Kasparou who says, “Chess helps you concentrate, improve your logic. It teaches you to play by the rules and take responsibility for your actions, how to problem solve in an uncertain environment.” So in other words, chess can help us in so many ways in real life. It teaches you survival and problem solving for example.

I am going to do something interesting here by comparing life to a game of chess. That leads me to another quote, this one by Allan Rufus. He said, “Life is like a game of chess. To win you have to make a move.
Knowing which move to make comes with IN-SIGHT and knowledge, and by learning the lessons that are acculated along the way. We become each and every piece within the game called life!” He sums it up perfectly for why life is like a game of chess.

Like I said before, in order to win the game you have to capture the king and be able to say checkmate which is when the other player is all out of moves. This is another way in which life is like a game of chess. A lot of the time you have to make moves in silence. That leads me to my next quote which is pretty straightforward. “Move in silence, only speak when its time to say checkmate.” So in other words, do not announce your moves to anyone. You do not want anyone, especially your enemies to know any of your moves ahead of time. You just want to keep them guessing.

Some people might think an important piece is a pawn or maybe the king because that is who a chess player wants to protect, but I personally think that one of the important and powerful pieces is the queen. That leads me to these next quotes, the first by Karim R. Ellis who says, “A king may be the most important piece on the chess board however the queen is the most powerful as she performs more moves than any other token. Men take notes.” The other quote is by Tiffany Reisz who says, “The king was the strong piece, of course. The most important chess piece and the most vulnerable to attack. But the queen… the queen was the most powerful chess piece. More powerful than the king. And the queen could move any way she wanted…” Those quotes sum it up perfectly of why the queen is the most important and powerful pieces. She can go in any direction she chooses and is not limited in how many squares she can move in. Horizontal, vertical, or diagonal. It does not matter.

Let’s move onto the king and the whole meaning behind chess. Like I said before… the whole point of chess is to capture the king. This next and final quote sums up what chess is all about. “In chess, the king is the most important piece. The object of the game is to trap the opponent’s king so that its escape is not possible (checkmate). If a player’s king is threatened with capture, it is said to be in check, and the player must remove the threat of capture on the next move. If it cannot be done, the king is said to be in checkmate. Although the king is the most important piece, it is usually the weakest piece in the game until a later phase, the endgame.” So in other words, the king can be an important piece as well as being the weakest piece too. I know there is a lot to absorb and remember here, but the main thing is that although chess is just a game it can teach us a thing or two about the real world. I am including a poem here. It won me runner up for a competition I participated in on DUP. I hope that my readers really enjoy this one. Cheers!!

Game of Chess

Make your moves in silence as one does
In a game of chess. Watch out as pawns
Become castles, knights, bishops, queens
And kings. Do not second guess because
In those moments of weakness the swans
Take advantage. Mirrors or smoke screens

Will advert you from the truth as you keep
Your guard up with your knifes sharpened
And ready. Calculate your moves so your
Enemies do not see you slipping or asleep.
To them you are like a decaying carcass,
But little do they know you won the war

And the game they came to play. My dear,
It is already check and checkmate. They
Should just give up the game as you are
The true queen. They should not only fear
You, but also underestimate. You will stay
Useless in their eyes, but you are the star.

Ocean Vuong Tribute

Here is another featured poet that I just recently discovered thanks to a contest I participated in on DUP. His name is Ocean Vuong. With his birthday coming up on October 14 I am posting this. The poem that inspired my poem is titled “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous.” I put my own spin on it. If you want to see his poem click here. Otherwise I am going to let my poem speak for itself. Enjoy!!!!

Beautiful Memories (Ocean Vuong Tribute)

I see the lust and hunger in your eyes,
green like the meadows we spend our
summers trampling through as children.

Home… Who would have thought we
would come back to the place where we
began and started. Memories filter in like
all the times we sat on the front porch
waiting and watching. Or when we laid
down on the soft grass and we would
see the stars shatter and break like
bullets going straight for the heart.

Did you know how many times I saw
you cry and how I wished I could do
something about it? I never saw such
beauty until I saw you pray for miracles
in the middle of every disaster you faced.

I wish we could go back to where we were
most beautiful with your hair as a tangled
mess and feeling your heat through my shirt.

Your heartbeat was my favorite sound as
the silence was so loud. Your feet on the
dashboard as we would follow the moon
everywhere. Your laughter and meaningful
conversations that kept us up all night until
we saw the sunlight bleeding on the horizon.

I never knew love until I saw your eyes
change from lust and hunger to love and
adventure. I wanted to spend all my days
with you by my side as the world has so
much beauty. In between your fingertips
I see the real you that no one else knows.

So let me know you as beautiful and
imperfect. Sunshine and rain. Whole
and incomplete like a puzzle. Autumn
and winter. Spring and summer. I just
want to know what you would look like
with wrinkles yet still having that sparkle
in your eyes like you never truly aged
at all. I would love you even more.

Louise Glück Tribute

I am continuing my tribute posts to specific poets/writers I feel like deserve it and this one is no different. This one is dedicated to Louise Glück who is one of those writers who has been around for a while, but I recently discovered her after contributing to a competition on DUP in her honor. The other thing I am doing with these tribute posts is that I am posting them as close as I can to their birthdays. It helps honor them in a certain way. Glück’s birthday is April 22nd. This piece that I wrote is based on one of her most prolific pieces “Afterword” (here is the link for that piece). And for this piece I received runner up. Here it is and I hope that you enjoy reading it!!

Afterthought (Inspired by Louise Glück)

The blank pages and canvas in front of me  
Remain barren and empty. Why? Maybe  
I no longer feel any of the inspiration and  
blood flowing through my veins like they  
once did before. Maybe my voice chose  
to give out. All I can do is hope for the rose  
to start blooming again and for a miracle  
to take me back to the empty roads where  
I felt most at home. Even the changes in  
scenery did not ease my mind anymore.  

All I can think about is the world that tears  
apart at the seams. But no one seems to  
care about the darkness or shadows that  
creep in. They want to read about light  
and happiness. Death happens every day  
yet we choose to ignore it like the warning  
signs for a pending storm. We ignore the  
pain for a moment as the loss finally kicks  
in and we scramble to find the pieces. The  
pages and canvas start swaying side to side  
like a car that stops following the paved road. 

Is there an answer in the wind? Maybe hope  
is on the horizon. Maybe all the answers lay  
hidden in how I hold the pen or paintbrush.  

The inspiration could come back as the chaos 
and clutter finally depart like an airplane that  
is ready for takeoff. We were once all children 
who never had to worry about explaining our  
failures or disappointments in both life and    
love to anyone. We never had to worry about  
life’s afterthoughts. How I wish we can all be  
explorers again as the foliage becomes vibrant.  

As we grew older nothing made sense anymore  
and nothing was as important as the closed door.

Can’t Break Me

I know I have talked about breaking down. So some of this may sound like a repeat. In this case I am talking about things that cannot break us. Someone may try to break us, but it about getting back up. We are breakable, but we are also unbreakable which means that some things and people can try to break us, but will be unsuccessful. That right there leads me into my first quote. “You’re a diamond, dear. They can’t break you.” Being unbreakable in my mind is a lot like being a diamond or steel because being unbreakable is also being indestructible, which means you cannot be destroyed. In my mind diamond=indestructible.

In this last year and in years past I have learned how to become a strong person despite what people think they know about me. It is like what Denzel Washington said. He said, “You can’t break me because you didn’t make me.” There is so much truth in that one quote because no one can truly break you. You cannot give anyone that power to break you because the truth is that you made yourself. People try to knock you down, but they should know by now that you come back stronger than ever. In all honesty people cannot break you because like this next quote says you have already been broken. “They can’t hurt me anymore, there’s nothing left to break of me, nothing left to take from me.” So in other words they cannot take anything more from you.

I figured this would be a good post to start 2020 with because like I said before, this last year has been learning to become unbreakable despite what people throw my way and what people think they know about me. The truth is that no one knows what I have been through and let’s keep it that way. I want to conclude this post with one more quote. “You will get tired of knocking me down, before I get tired of getting back up. I promise you that!” So do not bother trying to knocking me down because you will realize that it will get you nowhere.

There is so much more that I could say and there is so many more quotes I can include in this post, but I will conclude this post right here. I wish everyone a happy 2020!! This post and following poem is dedicated to all the warriors out there. This poem received runner up position for a competition on DUP. When you look up the definition of warrior in the dictionary one of the definitions is the following: “a person engaged or experienced in warfare; soldier.” So I thank all the warriors out there. Once again happy 2020. I wish everyone a prosperous and healthy new year. Thank you for another trip around the sun. This would be the 3rd year I have had this blog and I want to personally thank all my supporters. Here’s to another year, cheers!!

Warrior

With my heart beating loudly in my
Chest and my sweaty palms I refused
To back down from the challenge that
Was awaiting me. I refused to cry
Any more than I already have. He confused
Me with someone who does not combat

Their demons or shadows every day.
That night I stayed awake until 2 am
Because once again he made me feel
Like I was unlovable, but that one ray
Of sunshine poked through a broken dam
That tried to drown me. I am made of steel

And all the strong stuff. I went right past
The red flags because I loved hard as
I always do no matter the situation or
Person. I am made to survive and last
Long past the winter’s storm. What has
Me down does not matter as I ignore

The doubters and haters because
They think they know my weakness
When in truth they know absolutely
Nothing about me. They never pause
And ask right questions. The bleakness
In my eyes never caused their mutely

Mouths to truly ask me about me.
Instead they ask me about my job
And not enough asking about if I got
Enough sleep. I wonder if they see
What they want to see. A girl bobbing
And weaving to the top. They forgot

That I have obstacles too and that is how
I became a warrior standing on her feet now.

Mantras

I want to end this year (happy early 2020 by the way) with talking about mantras. I know that I have talked about them before, especially in one of my earliest posts back when I first started this blog. When someone looks up the definition of mantra in the dictionary one of the definitions is the following: “an often repeated word, formula, or phrase, often a truism” (dictionary.com). I think of a mantra as something we repeat when we are going through rough times or it can be that reminder we remember every day. Everyone in this world has a different mantra like what Russell Brand says. “Everyone has their own mantra.” There is truth to that because everyone is district and has their own goals or aspirations. For example, my mantra could be different than someone else’s. Why? Who knows, but that should not matter. We are all just trying to make the world a better place and brings something positive. It is like what Sogyal Rinpoche says. “The definition of mantra is ‘that which protects the mind.’ That which protects the mind from negativity, or that which protects you from your own mind, is called mantra.” I definitely have to agree with that quote because a mantra is indeed something that protects us from going to a negative place which leads me to my next point.

I also think that a mantra is something positive because I do not think there is any point of having one that is negative. Robin S. Sharman says, “A mantra is nothing more than a collection of words strung together to create a positive effect.” In other words you are putting this mantra out into the world to create a positive effect and change. A mantra is something to believe in. One of the mantras I have used in the past and I still try to use it whenever I can is: “I’m beautiful and good enough.” You can view my post titled “New Mantra: I Am Beautiful and Good Enough” to learn more about the inspiration behind it. I figured this would be a good way to end the year. Because mantras are important and are a good way to start off the new year as well.

I want all of my readers to think long and hard about what their mantra is. Write it on a post it note and put it in a place you can see it. I know it sounds silly, but say it out loud to yourself every day or you can whisper it. This mantra can be as short or as long as you want it to be. Mantras serve a purpose in life. I hope my readers enjoy my final poem of 2019. The below poem won runner up for a competition on DUP. And I wish everyone a happy 2020! May this next year bring you everything you wished for. Cheers!!

My Mantra(s)

Be myself in a world that is filled
With too many people who pretend
To be someone else. Be a light in
A dimmed or dark room. I build
Myself back up when I spend
Time getting knocked down. Grin
And smile even when I just want
To hide away for a little bit. No one
Can ever take away my dream or
My hope. Spend time and energy
On those who deserve it. The sun
Is right there in the way I ignore
Self-doubt and killers. Yesterday
Is in the past and I am walking
Towards a better tomorrow. I am
Letting the truth spill out instead of
Hiding behind lies. Stop clocking
In and out of prison. Let the slam
Of the door be definite. I will find love.

Obsessions

We all have obsessions as human beings in one way or another. Whether it’s perfection, money, fame, love or something else… sometimes we just have to live with this “obsession.” I feel like having an obsession could either be a great thing or something that is extremely bad. When you are passionate about something that could be seen as something good, otherwise I feel like it could be a habit that could turn into something horrible. Anyways, here is a quote about a good obsession from Billie Jean King. She says, “Obsession can sometimes be a good thing! No one changes the world who isn’t obsessed.” On the other side we have some situations in which obsession can be a bad thing, which leads me to another quote. Norman Mailer says, “Obsession is the single most wasteful human activity, because with an obsession you keep coming back and back and back to the same question and never get an answer.” So in other words, obsession can leave you with more questions than answers. A lot of the time that feeling is horrible and can leave you empty.

Sometimes as women especially we are taught to be obsessed with perfection and looking beautiful as we see all of that within the beauty industry. We are also taught to be looking for love from someone else. We are teaching girls all about that and that is the WRONG kind of obsession because outer beauty does not matter as much as our inner beauty. Yes, appearance does matter, especially in professional settings such as when she works, but we should not teach little girls to become beauty queens. That is an obsession that can be carried around for a lifetime. It is something that is forever ingrained. Instead we should be teaching girls and women to be comfortable in who they are. That leads me to my next quote by Sandra Cisneros. She says, “I am obsessed with becoming a woman comfortable in her own skin.” That is an obsession we should be touching everyone, man and woman.

It could lead to something bad later down the road. That brings me to my next quote. Greg Carlisle says, “Anything that inspires addiction or obsession – substances, entertainment, beauty, secrecy – is dangerous in that it can lead to isolation, self-absorption, and disconnection, to paralyzed stasis: an immobility that gathers like a force.” Like I said the wrong kind of obsession can lead to bad habits. I want to end this post by saying obsessions are obsessions. They are things that are deeply ingrained. I have included two poems down below. The second one is a visual poem titled “Obsession with Perfection – Visual Poetry.” I hope my readers enjoy these poems!! Sorry if my post feels like its rambling on and all over the place. There is so much to be talked about in this subject.

Little Obsessions

She was still a little girl who carried her insecurities around like a blanket
And was always obsessed with finding perfection all around her because
She could not find any perfection within herself. She already had cut

Herself too deeply to care if she was still bleeding. She knew the cause
Of her pain, but it was another one of her obsessions to keep it all to
Herself until she was drowning and completely submerged. Her flaws

Are like track marks and a road map on her body, beautiful but not new
To her. I know she tries hard to forget the inflicting words she has heard
Her whole life. Parts of herself that she keeps to herself. When you

Love someone like her, I promise you that she will mean every word
Because for her they come directly from her heart. Her obsession
With words never diminishes because she wants to be a free bird.