on my mind ...

so love this!

i love this guy.

when i seek quiet and calmness, poetry is where i go.  and nature.  photographs of nature.  so, this guy's site is where i wander to - where i don't mind getting lost in for hours and hours.   

here's my recent favorites:

via tyler knott

Sometimes

I must carry through

the crazy

to notice

that soon,

a light

would spread

in me.

- Tyler Knott

via tyler knott

he's amazing.  check out tyler knott's site here.

Happy Friday, everyone!!!

On writing a poem

Maya Angelou said that anyone can write a poem, but

"I don't know if anyone will write a poem.

You have to want to.  You have to have sharp ears.

And you have to not be afraid of being human."

photo via

finding creativity

As one of my many new year's resolutions this year, I started taking writing classes again.  And after one of our ten-minute writing exercises, inspired by words and phrases around us, I came up with this:

It was a chain reaction
our heated and passionate
talks in the hallway
turned into sinfully good
times in our own created
enchanting island.

We were native souls,
flirty without a hint of care
but inspired at every turn
from the leather bound books
that embraced us to my
dangling braids the color of honey.

Sadie said I was dragging her old habit,
but the apple of my cheeks
still craved for your lips.

And oh, wasn't it a universal appeal?

She said stop fretting over that summer.
But what is less understood is that I didn't.
I just missed the chocolate deliveries
and honey-glazed turkey we shared.

After this writing exercise, I was tickled.  It was the closest thing to a poem that I've written in a VERY LONG TIME.  And probably not my best work.  We had ten minutes to flip through magazines and books for phrases that jumped at us.  And another ten minutes to put it all in one piece.  But still, I wrote a poem.  It was a breakthrough. 

Because you see, I have always believed that in able to write a poem, you have to be courageous enough to delve into your soul, tear your heart apart and pull it outside of you.  Let the world touch it and influence it.  Let the world break it, dissect it, and put it back to pieces.  You have to allow yourself to be vulnerable.   

After that class, I felt alive again.  Me again. 

And yesterday, I took these pictures during my hike.  I wanted to capture the remains of raindrops on a flower.  Not bad, I say.  :)

my love for maya ...

Dr. Angelou, that is.

I discovered Maya Angelou in college.

And it was instant love.

Her words spoke to me

like a comforting memory

I had been desperately searching for.

Once I found her, I just knew.

I was home. 

And if ever lost again,

I just return to her words,

and they will navigate me back.

To where I belong.

"My mission in life is not merely to survive,

but to thrive; and to do so with some passion,

some compassion, some humor, and some style."

(- Maya Angelou)

Chemistry

It started with a single hello.

He looked up from his textbook, and smiled.

Then, he said that two-syllable word.

And from there, casual conversations, as he

passed her way, turned into hour-long talks.

Before she knew it, he made the smile on her face

come from a place deep inside her soul

she wasn't aware existed.

From across the parking lot, across the library floors,

their eyes always somehow found their way to each other.

And his presence always consumed her.  Even from a distance.

She longed to scream to the world her feelings for him,

but no words could describe the meaning of his

mere existence in her life.

Somehow, she never found the words.

To even tell him.

Chemistry is hard to come by, she had been warned.

But once you feel it, experience it, there's no

denying its intensity.

You can try to run, turn your back on it,

slam the door on its face, and still

it will be there.

On the other side of the door.

She tried to convince herself that he wasn't a rarity.

She should have realized that such feelings were.

And although chemistry may never go away,

the people it connects can easily do so.

(written April 20, 2004)

Photo: Andres De Leon

All Roads

All Roads

There will come
a day
for all of
us
that shows us
without doubt
or room for
discussion
that
all the roads
of our
lives
have led
directly
to here.

- Tyler Knott Gregson


p.s. Tyler Knott is awesome!  Check out his site. 

Photo: Malcolm Cowe