I’m on WATTPAD

I have created a WATTPAD account where I will be posting most of my future material (along with here on my blog). Please feel free to follow along! I made my poetry book available via Wattpad (for FREE). Please check it out, vote & share! My account is KimilyET24 Thank you ❤

https://embed.wattpad.com/story/219505268

 

Emerging Poets 2019~Published!

Today “Mississippi’s Best Emerging Poets 2019: An Anthology” was published by Z Publishing. My poem is first in the Inspiration section! 🙂 Please check it out. If you would like to purchase a copy, please use my referral link below so that I receive credit. I greatly appreciate it! Thank you as always! ❤

https://www.zpublishinghouse.com/?rfsn=3472631.063105

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Z Publishing Emerging Poet 2019

Hello everyone!

I would like to sincerely apologize for my recent absence for which I have no valid excuse. I suppose I have been lacking motivation. But, what does that even mean? It means I’ve been lazy. & for that I would like to apologize to my readers. Please accept my apology, & let’s move forward!

Today I was bestowed the great honor of having one of my poems selected for publishing! Z Publishing House will be printing my poem “Positivity is a Virus” in their Emerging Poets of 2019 series. You can find it in the Mississippi edition available December 7th. I received a draft of the book tonight & I was elated to find that my poem was FIRST in the “Inspiration” category. I am ecstatic for this opportunity & hope everyone goes out & purchases a copy!

Thank you to my loyal followers & anyone who just happened upon this page by chance. I hope you too will find my writing captivating enough to stick around. Only up from here! ❤

PS

You can purchase the book at ZPublishingHouse.com

Archives are Important

The more we try to erase the past, the more we will see it in the future. Memories were created with a purpose. So we could learn from our previous mistakes. If we don’t remember what we did wrong we will continue to make the same mistakes over & over again & again. 

Today we live in a world where people strive to be politically correct. A world filled with hatred among humans & resentment for the past. Racial animosity & friction betwixt the genders are at an all time high. But, WHY?! We are all humans, we are all equal, we should all be treated the same, right? But, we aren’t. Here’s where I will sound negative for a second. The world ain’t fair, so deal with it! Not something you want to hear, is it? Of course not. But, it’s the truth. This leaves us sentient beings with two options. 1. To work as hard as we possibly can to achieve our goals, despite our birth bound setbacks, which may include having been enabled too often. 2. Blame others for not being treated the way you want to be treated.

I don’t even honestly feel the need to go into depth on option one as it seems pretty straightforward to me. The harder you work, the more you will achieve. Yet, there is this whole other side to that, which ties into option two. Why aren’t we working to create a world, in which everyone is treated equally? When we place blame on others, we are giving them the power to control our thoughts & feelings. This power is a right, which should remain your own. 

The solution is pretty simple, quit placing blame & instead strive to treat everyone as you wish to be treated yourself. This is, after all, the golden rule. If everyone treated each other as they wanted to be treated in return, the world would be a better place. So often this is said, but so rarely is this theory put into action. We get so distracted by placing blame, because it is the easy thing to do. It is a cop out, instead of accepting the responsibility that the reason you are not happy may actually have nothing to do with the color of your skin or which reproductive organs you have & may in fact be more about your own view of yourself. Do you see yourself as a success or a failure? Are you satisfied with who you are? 

Today is not the day I will talk about finding your own self worth, or how to love yourself. Today I am writing about possibly the biggest issue with our current society’s infatuation with the concept of political correctness. The issue with it is, the “blamers” would like to erase the past. First of all, let me point out. This is impossible! It cannot be done. The past is what it is, & it cannot be changed. Some dinosaur probably once pooped where you now eat. Don’t like it? Too bad! It is a fact. When we realize that the past is a fact, a statistic set in time, then we can begin to shape the future. Circling back to what I said in the first paragraph. Our brains were embedded with a recollection archive. A memory, a database whose files can be retrieved by their owner at any time. 

Just like our memories, historical records hold significance also. When a criminal gets a “record,” it is there so that people know how many times the criminal has done what wrong in attempt to prevent future occurrences. Why then is it important that history is remembered? To learn about things like wars & unethical treatment of humans by one group towards another—be it religion, race, gender, age, or any other reason—learning about these things is how we prevent them from reoccurring. A lot can be learned from any bad situation. & since the past has  already taken place, why not use it to learn from? Let’s learn from mistakes that have already been made & go forward avoiding making the same ones again. So back to the problem. These blame placers today just want to pretend like the past never happened. They want to remove artwork—original masterpieces, change flags, ban the pledge, avoid singing the national anthem or other lyrics, remove key events from text books, etc. All because these things are too “offensive.” What is offensive is that we have not used these historical mistakes to learn how to treat each other with kindness & respect. You would think by now we would have gotten the point! Yet, here we are. Just remember, the less history there is to learn from, the more likely those same issues will present themselves in the future, possibly even multiple times. ❤

Happy Monday

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It is often a challenge to encourage others. Even the most positive people have bad days. We are all human, no one is immune to this phenomenon. When you’re feeling down it can be hard to think about putting others first. But remember how important it is. Making someone else smile may just be what you need. When you see others in a good mood it can put you in a good mood. & your good mood may just be what the other person needs to be happy. It’s a never ending circle. What you put out is what you will receive. So put out joy & it shall return to you. Have a great day, make it count! Get out & grind this week! Make things happen! As always, you control your happiness. 💙

A Family of Strangers

A family of strangers

is a gathering of friends

Who met once upon a time

& remained bonded ’til the end

 

From each far reaching corner

of this spherical Earth

Accumulating like magnets

to bask in each others worth

 

Swimming across oceans

Climbing mountain peaks

Crossing legal borders

To love endlessly

 

Bonding over campfires

Listening to tunes

Even playing with light-up balloons

 

Sharing our souls

Good vibes spread throughout

Selflessness offered up

Joyous praises we shout

 

Developing crushes

We seek only to hide

Because fear of rejection

Is detrimental to our pride

 

We’re incapable of accepting

the love that we deserve

Because too many times

we’ve been kicked to the curb 

 

We show affection

to those who aren’t us

Yet we wonder how

their love we can trust

 

If we can’t love ourselves

How can others return

They can’t reciprocate

What we continue to burn

 

Feelings cause pain

when you don’t believe

That love is there

for you to receive 

 

You circle back to homies

Your sisters & brothers

To forget about emotions

& not let them smother

 

Positivity is a Virus

Positivity is a virus
You can easily transmit
It’s highly contagious
Don’t fear spreading it

You infect one life
& so they affect others
Thus a ripple begins
Which this world, it smothers

Waves traveling forward
Across oceans, across land
From one soul to the next
’Til together we all stand

Sick with this virus
Mutated into those
Who love one another
Whose hearts have been transposed

Each frozen thought thawed
Every mind opened wide
So that we can all see
The beauty held inside

There will be no more heartache
No tears shed from wet eyes
No pain, only joy
Sunshine & butterflies

Smiles on every face
Arms open wide
Diversity embraced
Conflicts set aside

Who knows how far
Your ripple will go?
The world is a sphere
So in circles it flows

Disease is the answer
Like zombies we unite
Don’t cower in the darkness
Be positive, spread your light

Hearts, like oreos, don’t break even

I once heard that hearts don’t break even
Today I realized the truth of this phrase
The reality is that splits are like twisting oreos apart
The icing inside is never sliced smooth down the center
It’s rough & jagged & disproportionate on either side
Sometimes one side steals all the delicate delicious filling from the inside & the other is left completely barren

To quote a monologue from the movie Call Me by Your Name
“We rip out so much of ourselves to be cured of things faster than we should that we go bankrupt by the age of 30 & have less to offer each time we start with someone new. But to feel nothing so as not to feel anything—what a waste!”

I am the oreo who was stripped bare, & by 27 I was bankrupt with nothing left to offer the next person who enters my life. I am trying to open up, let people in. But shutting down is so much easier when all I’ve ever known is disappointment & disappearance taking with it every piece of my soul I had invested in that person. Guess I’m just venting today, no rhyme or reason lol. But this is the real me. & it shares a little about my writing too. That’s the reason I keep 95% of my writing to myself is because I pour my heart & soul into it, & I fear someone stealing that work, which contains my soul, or judging it as so often happens to me as a person.

Time is fragile, make it last!

3 weeks ago I wrote a poem about time. I wasn’t sure if or when I would post it. However, after the passing of yet another iconic artist today (Avicii-may he RIP), I figure it was fitting. So without further adieus…

Forever I feel like a record on repeat
Time is pendulum, back & forth it swings

Yet time only moves forward on this planet that we live
People pressure time & they beg it to give

As my words remain the same
Time is constant; doesn’t change

The older you get the quicker time passes & the less you posses
So when life slips you by, then you begin to stress

Without being God, you can’t slow it down
& all your fun moments swim by & you drown

You’ll rush life away
But you want certain moments to stay
You can’t pick & choose
Time won’t be abused

So try not to wish your short time away
Be fulfilled by each moment; let every second stay

Stretch time out, as long as you can
Marinate in the now, don’t focus on future plans

The present is all the time you are promised
The future isn’t guaranteed, so with yourself be honest

Enjoy where you’re at, don’t return to past thoughts
They can’t be changed, & your present will be lost

What’s Inside is WHO YOU ARE

I heard a speech from one of my favorite baseball coaches last night & it really stuck with me, so I’d like to paraphrase what was said. Short version: “When you squeeze an orange, juice comes out. What’s inside of you? When life squeezes you what comes out? Because what’s inside you is who you are. & when you’re juiceful, you’re useful!”

Think of yourself as fruit, growing on a tree. As each day passes you are maturing, ripening. Everything you encounter grows into your being. The way you treat your body, how you nourish it affects the flavor of the fruit within. So, fertilize yourself with positivity; surround yourself with those who encourage personal development & empower you. Read books, learn new skills, talk to strangers, but whatever you do, push yourself! Never become content with your size or growth, there is always room for improvement. Cliché but true.

It is true that what’s inside is who you are. Our outsides often become tainted by negative circumstances. You may suffer a metaphorical freeze or get blown from the tree & hit the ground becoming bruised. Our outward appearance doesn’t often reflect what is within. It can appear scarred & haggard due to abuse or neglect. But just because a person has a skinned knee, does not mean the blood flowing through their veins is ruined or toxic. Our outsides are sensitive to our surroundings. They may appear weak or hardened to protect us. This is a façade. The inside remains the same. We are who we are within.

Life is going to squeeze you, contort you, twist you, grind you up & spit you out. But what exudes from this compressed corpse is WHO YOU ARE. So, who are you? & is that who you want to be? If not, who do you want to be? Work to become that person. You are the fruit, but you are also the farmer. You must put in the work to mold & maintain the maturation of what is inside. Don’t be rotted, smelly juice; strive to provide the best product you can!