Hi everyone,
Welcome to 365 Days of Poetry & Honesty! I hope this week has been kind to you <3
I’ve got two songs to share with you today. The first is one of my all-time favourites and the second I heard this week and have been playing nonstop.
I hope you like the songs & I hope you enjoy the poems this week :)
Monday
I owe the beginning of this poem to Grey’s Anatomy and Stephanie deciding to leave her surgical residency. It's a direct quote, “take my past and find my path” and I thought it was very poetic. I felt I could mirror it to my own self and accepting that I’m not going to graduate this year, which is okay because ultimately it's been my pride that’s stopped me from acknowledging what I need at the moment, what I need to do for myself. School was always my safe place, it was predictable, I could rely on it and rely on myself to do well. It was also central to my identity, the fact that I was a student, that I was intelligent. And I felt I needed to be because of how turbulent my immigration status was. In my head, as a child, good grades meant I could prove I would be a good citizen and no one could take that away from me. Now I’m nearing four years at uni and I only just realised all that recently, that it’s all coming from this warped place of fear, me trying to do what I don't have the energy for at the moment. I’m also taking myself a lot more seriously, what I want, what makes me happy, and that's been quite scary to be honest because in the future I see for myself, I write and that how I make my living but in the kind of world we live in, my background, it feels like a pipe dream. But hope, although sometimes bitter, is a wonderful thing and I know what my heart’s saying. Anyway, after a very long introduction, here's the poem!
Tuesday
I write a lot of love poems. They're my favourite things to write and my week doesn't feel complete if I haven't put my imagination to the task of writing one. Love is a great big boundless feeling and that's what I’m chasing, with the imagery and my words.
Wednesday
Two poems!
Thursday
Equine Therapy has made me think a lot about trust, about how it's a necessity for a relationship to flourish. Also I finally managed to sit out on my balcony with one of the squirrels as company! I had a coffee, the squirrel ate some nuts, it was a really lovely moment and I think that took trust. They have sharp nails so I’m always a little scared and the neighbour shouts so that's the normal for them. But I’m not particularly fond of my neighbours and I prefer the squirrels so I made the decision to leave some food out that day. I had to be quite still and mindful of my tone because every movement it would run back, watch me for a bit, then come back and resume eating. Eventually, it was all good and we were both sharing the balcony :)
Friday
I actually started this poem a couple of months ago but it felt quite blasphemous, writing about the crucifix in this way, focusing on the violence behind it. But something brought me back to it this week and I wanted to share it because it does describe how I came to know God. That's why I put evangelical cross, although I will say I’m unsure of the category because I pulled it from Wikipedia! Anyway, I don't think fear should be the foundation of believing in something, especially if that something is meant to provide solace.
Saturday
Naudline Pierre’s artwork is incredibly beautiful! https://www.naudline.com/
Sunday
Here's a song to end the newsletter. ‘Love Jones’ by J Dilla, and part of the reason I love it is because it shares the same name as one of my favourite movies! ‘Love Jones’ with Nia Long and Larenz Tate! I recommend it if you ever have the time :)
Thank you for reading my poetry. I hope this next week brings you plenty blessings <3
With Love,
Oyinda