Week Ten

1-7 march

Hi everyone,

Welcome to 365 Days of Poetry & Honesty! I hope this past week has been kind to you <3

There are no collages this week :( Ink is expensive and like most students, I’m broke! So maybe next week there’ll be some poems by hand :) That being said, I’ve included some songs as context and as an aural appetiser!

I hope you enjoy!

Monday

The title is inspired by ‘Rhymes To The East’ by Sampa the Great! I love this song, and how it makes me feel is how writing the poem made me feel & how reading it aloud makes me feel. I’ll include the song below the poem :)

The poem is ‘Rhymes To The West’ because I’m West African, Nigerian, Yoruba.

Tuesday

Something about Billie Holiday fills my spirit with the will to fight. Her voice is very evocative. I also recently watched her biopic with Andra Day, and I wrote the poem while watching the film. The song itself & specifically ‘Take 2’ I love! But there's nothing like context unraveling, nothing like the history of someone's sadness in front of your eye and seeing how the government, crooked & corrupt, tried to break her and censor her, and nothing like watching someone go through addiction because it's all too much pain for one person to carry.

Wednesday

Definitely a first draft, I can already see things I’d like to change !

TW: blood

Thursday

I’m trying to be patient, to trust that better days are coming, that passion and commitment pays off and that the process is just as, if not more, meaningful. That's the poem.

When I wrote the first four stanzas, I didn't think much about what it was really saying to me till I was listening to ‘If God Spoke’ by Chloe x Halle. At the end, they repeat “wait on me…”, and I’m always struck by that part and I started thinking about the poem, about waiting, trusting essentially, and I added the last two stanzas. Waiting can be brutal, I saw it as limbo, but waiting doesn't mean standing still, that's why I added the part about the magnolias. I think also acknowledging that sometimes you're not ready for the things you want, and that the journey might wear you down a little bit, a lot sometimes, but growing pains I think. Also, being witness to your capacity for love & empathy expanding, watching yourself grow bolder. I think it's worth it.

Friday

This is a sad one, reading it makes me a tremble a bit but it's an important one.

TW: alludes to suicide

Saturday

Take up space, take off!

Sunday

a declaration! Sometimes I feel like there are right ways to be, right things to say and do, and I get stuck in what seems normal. That kind of thinking doesn't let you be in the moment or really experience things, especially with other people. And I also think that that kind of thinking puts walls up, because at some point it's not you, it’s what you think other people think you should be and I think you have to trust that you yourself are a good person and that you are worthy. It's difficult coming from a place of trauma and low self-esteem but it's worth it to try and ask people to love you anyway.

This week's newsletter was lacking in sensuality so I’ve included an extra poem <3

Thank you for reading this week’s newsletter ! <3 Let me know which one was your favourite, or if you have any comments/feedback in general :) 

I wish that you have a wonderful start to the week!

With love,

Oyinda