Bright-eyed young girl, Curious and crafty, Let’s start a project and learn to crochet. Tiring quickly, She abandoned the lesson. She couldn’t see past the first stitch- Obsessed with chains, with growing taller, The neverending line of connection So easily unfurled. Chains, chains, chains. Chains everywhere and every day. Quickly and carefully created by this crafty girl And unraveled even faster, The impermanence of childhood Displayed through her repetitive ritual. She lost interest as quickly As any other once-inspired child, And many years without crocheted chains passed Before a spark of inspiration woke her from her daze. Timid hands picked up threadbare yarn, dusted with age. Fingers moved as if possessed, Creating chains came so easily And her inner child was elated by the familiarity Of her once daily routine. The desire to unwind, to unfurl Pulled so strong within her, But the necessity To create, to give life, to build something that matters Overcame all else. She kept making chains. She made chains and then kept working. She kept building on the foundation To create something strong Something useful Something beautiful for herself. For herself, she kept creating.
Poem
Prodigy
Fate took control
A force to be noted
Unfolded from the start
Of an unknown tune-
A pick against taut strings
Rock the house of our future
Transforming into a dance floor,
Den of movement,
For which we travel through
Until the court rules
Whether our lives
Will be forever intertwined.
Private Concert
When you see the massive black headphones
Enveloping ears with the booming bass
And powering the soul with a newfound life force,
Imagine the concert taking place
In the venue between
An ever-changing dance floor
With a party that never stops supplying energy.
You can see the effect and feel its presence-
The music taking your pain away
Freeing your soul from the pressures of your life
And makes you unstoppable.
You can hear the emotion present in the tremble
Of staccato notes like hiccups before a breakdown.
Your judgment is worth nothing
To the power of music held within,
So push it aside
And enjoy your private show
Of an artist getting lost in their work.
On My Mind
Midnight thoughts
Intrude on seductive sleep
And push it away,
Pulling my mind
Into a late night tango
Of past moments and parallels.
This exhausting dance,
My body moving to the tempo,
Keeps moving to the music
Until my legs can’t keep up.
These thoughts,
These nights,
These unforgettable moments
Make for mental messes
To be ignored- an insomniac’s gift-
Until the next late night
Where my mind won’t stop dancing
To the beats of the past.
Where We Came From
Let’s reminisce
About the days
When we were old enough
To know better
But young enough
Not to care.
When we spent
Our hard earned money
On temporary satisfaction
Gone as soon
As they’d been obtained.
Liquid courage
To get us through
The days to come-
And the only things
We have to show
For our mistakes
Are the friendships
That made us stronger
And the lessons
We’ll never forget.
Extraordinary You
You are more
Than the sum
Of your lessons
Since the beginning of your time,
Stepping stones that lead
To potential
Forks, pitfalls, and hills
On this journey of life.
You are more
Than the difference
Of past and future colliding
The Impossible distance
From where you’ve been
And the peaks you’ve conquered
To where you’ll go
Speeding ahead into the unknown.
You are more
Than the quotient
Of your loved ones
Provided by a lottery
Good or bad
And the ones you choose
To reveal yourself to
Based on circumstance.
You are more
Than the product
Of society and individuality,
Pressure and instinct,
Colluding with each other
In public and in private
To create a version of yourself
For your success.
You are more
Than a complex equation
Of contradictories
That takes time and patience
For a solution.
You are more.
You are so much more.
Work in Progress
Vivid white paper
Stands out against dark lines
Waiting to be written upon.
Words may come
Words may be erased
But thoughts are never ending.
This time,
Write in pen
To immortalize your intentions.
Take action to show improvement-
As all living things
Are a work in progress.
Unwind
Spinning in circles
Momentum increases
Coils tighten
Until you make impact.
Hitting a wall,
Take a deep breath
Trace your steps
And unwind.
Fighting For Freedom
Age-old stories of coming to America
With nothing but minuscule amounts of money
To determine worth
And sell your soul.
How can you free yourself
From societal binds and pressures
Without first succumbing to them?
Monopolize your time
Build properties on your day to day life
And watch them come tumbling down
With every step forward that you make.
Has the patriarchy crushed you?
What about all the world’s woes?
When are we free
If we have done nothing to fight?
Lace your shoes tight
And fight with your sole-
Getting closer to your goal
Step by step.
Finding Myself
Exhausted with potential interests
I bury myself deep
Layers upon layers of comfort
Holding me back from exploring.
A fire burns within me
But my cold emotions seek solace.
Envy’s seeds are planted within,
A hint that spring is coming.
How do I plant seeds of hope instead?
I want to change along with the seasons
But what can I do
To break free from old habits
To explore new possibilities
And to find myself whole?