Tag: poem

Mary Oliver Tribute

As I became older in age I also became a huge fan of Mary Oliver. Her work is simple, but also very rich. I just wanted to write a post dedicated to her since she recently passed away. I have a few of her books, but one of my favorite poems in hers is called “The Journey,” which goes like this:

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice –
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
“Mend my life!”
each voice cried.
But you didn’t stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do –
determined to save
the only life you could save.

I wrote a poem that is a spin off of that poem, but before I share it with you I wanted to explain more why she is one of my favorites. I love a lot of her poems, but she also paved the way for the next generation of writers and poets. She shares her wisdom and she makes me become a better poet. There are so many of her quotes that are quite amazing, but there is one or two that stick out to me. The first one is, “So tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one and precious life?” In that quote she asks us what we are going to do because we only have one life and we each have a different plan/path to follow. The second quote is, “For poems are not words, after all, but fires for the cold, ropes let down to the lost, something as necessary as bread in the pockets of the hungry.” In other words, poems are not just simply words, but they are something that is necessary and essential for everyone. They almost always bring some sense of hope. That is what I like about Mary Oliver. She is someone who provides that hope and fire. I love that her pieces focus on nature too.

So here is that poem that I wrote in tribute to Mary Oliver. It is also a poem I submitted for a competition on DUP and won runner-up for it. Wherever you are Mary Oliver, I hope you rest in peace. I strongly encourage all of my readers to read her work. I know that you will not regret it.

The Journey (After Mary Oliver)

The journey starts with one small step. It is one step into the world
Where the tides and waves all rush to meet at your feet as you walk
In the sand on the beach’s shoreline, following endless words curled

On forgotten pages. Above all the endless noise, chatter and the talk
Of those around you is where you begin to find your bearings. It is
When you see the stars and you are away from the advice of a hawk

You find your voice. You want someone else to come fix and un-fizz
Your life like the aftermath of a chaotic storm or glass of champagne,
But it starts within you. You pried and took the truth from her or his

Delicate fingers. They may blame it on the wind because with the rain
It knocks everything sideways and makes everything damp, but you
Have to do what you needed to do all along. The naked truth may stain

Their souls, making them yell why? But someday when the sky is blue
Again they will understand that it was all a part of the journey. It was
All a part to saving one life, which is only yours. It may echo through

The empty house that might tremble like an earthquake, but the buzz
Finally clears and you stand there with the answers that make sense.
It is like all the overgrowing weeds and the clouds that used to cause

Worry has disappeared into the surrounding atmosphere. The fence
That separates you from the rest of the world has crumbled into ash.
It is like life’s naysayers, worries and doubts are all in the past tense

Because what happened in the past has no place in the now. You dash
Into the pouring rain so you can feel alive and to hear something other
Than the voices that live in your head. There are days when you crash

And burn, but you still keep going on with one step at a time to another
Fork in the road. Where should you go? Whichever way gets you further.

Superpower

I have really been into the superhero stuff these days, especially with the things I watch on Netflix like The Flash, Supergirl, Marvel’s Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., etc. They all have different superpowers like strength, speed, etc. I always thought about what my superpower would be if I were a superhero. I think I will stick with either invisibility or strength. Those seem like good options. I am going to give you a quote from the man of steel himself, Superman. “You’re much stronger than you think you are. Trust me.” And he is right. We are stronger than we think we are. I think strength not only comes from the outside, but within. We just have to trust that we are strong. We do not have to be as strong as Superman or Superwoman, but strength makes us powerful. So go ahead and find your superpower because someday the world might need it!! Here is a poem I wrote for a competition about having strength as a superpower on DUP. As it so happens I won. Here it is… Enjoy!!

Strength of Armor

Can you feel all my strength? It is strong enough to lift
Mountains that have tried to tear and weigh me down.
It is radiating even stronger than Greek God Krato’s gift,
Being strong enough to tear through this dead end town
And all it’s no good people. It is powerful enough to start
Every tornado or hurricane that touches down and slams
Into the west coast shoreline. My precious and gold heart
That will be leaving everyone behind in pieces while I am
Still standing here with my indestructible, yet solid armor.
People want a war? Well, they got one once they stand in
My way or path of destruction. I am a beginner and starter
Of every fire. I help everyone drown in his or her own sin.

Dark Room

I think I have talked about darkness before, so this may sound a little like a repeat. We have all been in darkness at some point and this may sound a little weird, but we may have all been in a dark room at some point too. I am going to leave that up to interpretation because everyone has their own definitions of darkness and a dark room. I think of it like when you are home alone and you sleep in your dark room. It can be scary and nerve wracking for sure. You may try to turn on the TV or listen to music or doing something to calm your nerves. There are some people who do enjoy it. Either way you learn so much about yourself and there are so many things that can happen. I feel like we are blessed to have things that are dark because it makes us appreciate it that much more. You have to trust it or as one of my favorite hip-hop artists, Kendrick Lamar questions in his song, Poetic Justice with Drake, “If I told you that a flower bloomed in a dark room, would you trust it?” In other words, you have to believe in the darkness and dark room regardless of what happens in this world.

I do not believe that people realize that a dark room is a sacred place. We have all cried, laughed and done other things in between these four walls. I guess in a way they hold our secrets and the truth. It is something to be thankful for as silly as it sounds. I guess what I am saying is to embrace the darkness and dark room as much as you embrace the light, as well as everything else in life. You never know what you might discover in a dark room. Sure, you cannot see as much, but you trust your eyes and things that you may not always see, but sometimes you can feel it. I think I finally found a quote that describes it a bit better. “If you are in a pitch dark room, wait for a few seconds and your eyes gradually start seeing! Patience gives clarity.” In other words, you begin slowly adjust to being in darkness. People are afraid to be in a dark room, but you never know until you try.

In This Dark Room

The dark room begins swaying and tilting.
How the hell did I get here? Maybe I had too
Many shots and drinks from the night before.
I remember your gaze, burning and wilting
Something deep within my fiery soul. You
And me finally all alone with a locked door.
No one was around to watch. I really wanted
To take you home, but we never got that far
As your hands wandered all over me and my
Body. I could not breathe. You have a haunted
Presence that I cannot shake off. Every scar
Is hidden away. We cannot see the blue sky
Inside the darkness anymore. I wish I could
Retain the color of your eyes before the lights
Went out and when our clothes slowly began
Disappearing.  I want to recall all of the good
And clear memories. We all have dark nights
And shadows, but you are always the same man
Within these four walls. Right here is where we
Made a lifetime of moments and memories. No
Truer words spoken than in a room that holds
Our secrets closely. A sacred place that will see
More to come.  No sunlight, but we will grow.
In time everything becomes beautiful and unfolds.

Beginning of Autumn/Fall

Hi everyone. We are halfway through October and I know it has been a while since I posted. Fall is definitely upon us and there are so many things to like about fall like the leaves changing or the change in weather. Whatever it is, I can think of very few reasons to not like fall or maybe I am just biased because it is definitely one of my favorite seasons. The one thing I do not like is the days getting shorter. It is a way to say goodbye to summer and hello to fall/autumn. Here is a quote about fall that I have come to really like. “Autumn paints in colors summer has never seen.” I think that is why autumn is one of my favorite seasons. We get these vivid colors like orange and red, which is different than summer. So I wish my readers a happy fall/autumn. Stay warm and toasty, my friends!! Happy reading.

The Man in the Arena

I am going to do things a little different because this post is going to be a little bit different. This post is inspired by a competition I took part in on DUP and I won this particular competition just recently. The host of this competition took an excerpt from Theodore Roosevelt’s “Citizenship In A Republic” speech which was delivered at the Sorbonne in Paris, France on April 23, 1910. It goes like this… “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” So I took some inspiration from that and wrote a poem based on my interpretation of that speech. Here you go. Cheers!!

Still In the Arena

The glory that is smeared all over my blade like blood.
The crowd may laugh and point at me because I got dirt
On my face, but they duck for cover as they hear the thud

Of feet heading their way. They are all cowards as I hurt,
Stumble, and feel the pain, but I still stay upright. My
Enemy is not the one with sweat all over his torn shirt.

I am the one who is still staying in the arena, eye to eye
With my fears and doubts all on display, but I am not
Scared of failure. I am not terrified of those tears I cry

As they splatter because I made it through every knot.
I survived as everyone around me whispered and crude
Remarks kept coming my way. Every battle that I fought

Was not for the applause or for the ones who screwed
Me over, but for the one who has shown up day after day
And was ready for every fight, me. My hope was renewed

And my faith was stronger than ever before. Every ray
Of sunshine could never shine too bright and the rain
Could never keep me inside. The rocks that try to weigh

Me down feel weightless as feathers and the windowpane
Has no beauty compared to what is happening in the arena.
I am the last one standing and I have gone against the grain.

For The Next Generation

I am not sure if I have talked about this yet, but if I did, my apologies. I am talking about the next generation here. I know that I have said I have concerns for the next generations because of what I see and read about. Sometimes I cannot help, but think about when I have kids, what I would say or give them advice about because there are so many things I could say. There are so many things I wish I could do to make this world a better place for them when they enter this world. All of the violence we see every day and the way we are leaving this world unclean. I wish that I could get rid of that so they would never see that, but those are lessons they need to learn and how to be kind to one another, etc. Like I said there is so much I want to give them advice about, so there is a poem that I wrote that will express what I want for my future child/children. I will get to that at the end of this post.

I am going to dive right in because I want to keep this on the shorter side. One thing I would want them to know is best said by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. She says “We need to teach the next generation of children their responsibilities from day one that they are responsible for their lives. Mankind’s greatest gift, also its greatest curse, is that we have a free choice. We can make our choices built from love or from fear.” So in other words, we each have responsibilities. It is harder to build something from hate rather than love. I wrote more for my future daughter because although both girls and boys go through a lot, I feel like it is a tougher world for young women to live in. This poem is for you.

To My Future Children

To My Future Daughter:

I hope that you find someone who not only
Worships your body, but also your soul and
Everything about you. You are not made to
Only give him pleasure. When you are lonely,
You feel like someone will misunderstand
You. Do not be tempted to make the sky blue
Or make a home out of someone else’s body
Until you understand the universe inside of
You because although it tends to tilt, swirl,
And change it is still your essence. Embody
Your faults and fissures. You possess a love
Filled with stars. You are no longer the girl
I once held in my arms, but you have become
A woman with a mind and opinions. Speak
Your truth and never let anyone or anything
Hold you back. Darling, you have come from
A mother who gave you the world, so seek
And keep exploring it too. Never stop. Sing
Your song at the top of your lungs. Smile.
Laugh. Cry. Learn. I hope that you grow as
Tall like beautiful sunflowers. Be witty.
I hope you will walk and run every mile
That tries to keep you from your topaz-
Sparkling world like the Emerald City.

To My Future Son:

I hope that you are always giving the respect
Women deserve. I hope you become a man
Who loves their smart minds and not just their
Bodies. I hope what you give should not collect
Like raindrops and be fully forgotten, but can
Be used to water those sunflowers. Be the air
That they can trust. Do not be selfish in giving
Everyone the love they deserve and love hard,
But do not become a hallow shell. A woman will
Love you for being yourself. Always be forgiving
Of her past mistakes because she will be scarred
And flawed, not always perfect. Chase your thrill,
But never forget any of her dreams or aspirations.

To My Future Daughter or Son:

Never let anyone take away your foundations.

Euphoria

You know the saying “you have to do what makes you happy?” We all should know that by now. It does not matter what you do or who you are with as long as that person or thing makes you happy. That feeling is called euphoria. When you look up euphoria one of the definitions is as follows (from dictionary.com). “a state of intense happiness and self-confidence.” There is a quote that explains it the best way, in terms of finding that person who makes you feel that. “When you find someone who can make you laugh. Smile. Grow. Lust. Want. Crave. Make you mad but happy. Keep that. That’s euphoria.” But I have also learned that you do not always have to find it within someone else because you can always find it within yourself. It is above happiness. I can go on and on about euphoria, but I will stop there. I hope that my readers go out into the world and find their euphoria. Happy reading! And I will leave you with one more quote by Bill Watterson who says “That’s the difference between me and the rest of the world. Happiness isn’t good enough for me! I demand euphoria!”

In the Present Moment

Laugh, smile and dance like there is no tomorrow.
It is in that moment, even in the fast pouring rain
That you truly forget about life and every sorrow.

Those tears that you thought would forever stain
Your soul have freed you from the burdens resting
On your shoulders. You are disentangled from pain

Lingering deep within your bones. You are testing
Your strength by walking away from situations that
Are not good and from people who are not investing

In your growth or adding to your happiness. Chitchat,
Noise and the horizon is what you strive to be above.
You deserve more than an empty promise and a flat

Line because you have much to offer with your love.
You always bring peace to this world like a flying dove.

Humankind and Mirrors

This world all around us… there is just something about it and about the people who live in it every day. Humankind I know is far from perfect. There is a power in the use of a mirror because it reflects back something. We use the mirror to look for our perfections and it could be uses to find our flaws like that one blemish or pimple or those laugh lines. There is a really good quote about the mirrors and what they show us. “Mirrors show us what we look like, not who we are.” In other words, mirrors show us what we look like and not what is on the inside. It shows us that we care more about our appearance than what the mirror does not show and sometimes that is a flaw in our world. I am going to keep this post short. So here is a visual poem and I hope that my readers enjoy it!! The name of this visual poem is “Mirror.”

Being Broken

I just want to give a heads up because this is a tricky and difficult subject matter to navigate for a lot of people, including myself. It is tricky because a lot of people do not want to talk about those times when they have been broken. I know I have talked about rough patches and when people struggle. This is one of those things some people struggle with. Being broken may make you think of a rag doll, but it is truly no fun. I have been broken a time or two, but sometimes you do not notice if you are broken until you hit rock bottom and do your best to pull yourself out. There is a quote I found to explain what I mean. “It doesn’t happen all at once, you know? You lose a piece here. You lose a piece there. You slip, stumble, and adjust your grip. A few more pieces fall. It happens so slowly, you don’t even realize you’re broken… until you already are.” So yeah, being broken is equivalent to something like a wall crumbling. You do not always notice it.

The thing about being broken is that you have every right to pull yourself out and try to not be in that same place again. I know because I have been there, but not anymore. The healing part takes the longest because being broken is being depleted of everything. Energy, yourself, etc. Some people do not always realize that they take you down with them. I am proud to say that I am no longer broken. Yeah, sometimes there is a piece or two missing, but it takes great strength and courage to come back from a place of being broken. It makes you appreciate everything so much more like this quote says. “The broken will always be able to love harder than most. Once you’ve been in the dark, you learn to appreciate everything that shines.” Being broken is a lot like being in the dark like that quote says. I couldn’t agree more.

The lesson to this is to never be afraid of being broken. I just hope everyone finds their way out of being broken and in the dark. There is always something on the other side of all of the pain and misery. Furthermore, if you are broken, please do your best to recognize that feeling and try to not bring anybody down with you. Like I said some people do not realize that they do it so if you or anyone you know is feeling this way, just know it is okay to ask for help. Trust me, we can all come out of it. It is difficult and challenging, I know. Just hang in there. I want to leave you all with this last quote for this post. “Until you’re broken, you don’t know what you’re made of. It gives you the ability to build yourself all over again, but stronger than ever.” Here is also a poem to lift your spirits. Much love to you all and always go towards the light.

No Longer Broken

You sneak your way under my exposed skin,
Latching onto sensitive organs. Goosebumps
Dance across my flesh, but every scraped shin
Reminds me of a time when I avoided the jumps
Only to come crashing into you. You tried fixing
And patching me up. Every smile and every laugh
Became raised words with silent actions, mixing
In excuses to throw me off my game. I was not half
Of the woman you made me out to be, but could
Simply be that girl who did not know any better.
You own the bad parts of me, but never the good
Parts too. You could have easily been my sweater,
But you left me standing out in the cold, in need
And begging for more like a drug addict, looking
Over my shoulder. I know you will never succeed
In making me feel that way ever again, hooking
And sinking me with dishonesty while escaping
The truth like the plague. I could not let you
Continue to be molding, forming and shaping
Me into that broken girl again because I have to
Believe in being something other than a rag doll.
I am not the one to kneel down to you and crawl.

Spirit Animal

I want to talk about something we have all thought about at some point. I believe that we all have some kind of spirit animal. I have never really thought about it myself until there was a competition on DUP that had that theme. I really had to sit and think of what my spirit animal is. I took one test which did not help at all, but then I took another one and I got elephant as my answer. When I saw the description I thought it described me perfectly and made me realize how much I love elephants. One of my closest friends got me a necklace with a super tiny elephant on it. I believe she got it for me for my graduation or maybe my birthday and in her card she read somewhere how elephants brought luck. So I started wearing it every time I needed some luck like when I had a job interview or when I started my internship. That necklace is very special for me. Now I am going back to why I think the elephant is my spirit animal. I took this test and this is what it said about my results. “You are the kind of person who needs their social life and family to be happy, but you are also wise and philosophical. You’ve got a memory that recalls everything, even the details that others may have allowed themselves to forget. In mind and body you are full of energy and spirit, but a calmness as well. And, if all that wasn’t great enough, you’ve got a good head resting on your shoulders, filled with sharp intelligence and gentle compassion.” I feel like that is a great description of who I am. So go ahead and find your spiritual animal because I think it might help you discover who you are. Sorry, there are no quotes with this post, but there is still a poem. Happy reading!!

Elephant Within

With one step they the have the power to destroy cities and rewrite
All of this history, but the elephants always help you remember
The memories to your name. Their eyes hold the burning light
And smoldering energy. Their wrinkled skin, the color of ember
Has weathered all of the brewing storms and dry deserts. The laugh
Lines that are just like folds and within all of the extra layers of life.
Someone who always sees what happens both before and after
The calmness. The one who keeps their heads level and their knife
Wielding skills in check. The one who floats above water and still
Has a smile. At the end of the day they still keep climbing up that hill.