Category: In Your Own Words

Dear Me

If you cannot acknowledge changes you need to make in your own life, you cannot demand change to take place in the life of others. If you cannot recognize progression in your own life, you will not recognize progression in the life of others. So (inspired by poet Rudy Francisco), I have put together this list, a letter of sorts to myself. It’s not exactly a poem (yet), but if I had to tell myself about myself, this is the list of 10 things I would advise myself:

• Dear Mind, you’re beautiful. It’s OK to let down some of these walls.

• Dear Hair, we’ve been through a lot together and honestly you used to get on my nerves, but I finally appreciate you, the most beautiful ropes I’ve ever seen.

• Dear Eyes, stop limiting yourself and see beyond what you can see.

• Dear Ears, pay attention. Not with the intent to reply, but with the intent to understand.

• Dear Heart, you dictate my life that much is clear, but like seriously, control yourself.

• Dear Emotions, you take things way too seriously and store them far too deep.

• Dear Hands, the storage place for my thoughts; honestly I like you more than the others.

• Dear Mouth, learn to open in your season and not  a moment before or after that.

• Dear Legs, don’t be afraid to lead.

• Dear Faith, you got roots, but the mountains are still waiting for you to move them. Keep growing.

Writing: The Flow

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I’ve been promising myself that I will get back to Billie Blanks for months now. I cheated on him once. Her name was Jillian Michaels and let’s just say those six weeks together was something else, but eventually I stopped seeing her too. I realized I enjoyed Tabo a lot better and vowed I would get back into it. The problem is I’ve been out of commission so long it’s hard to get back into it. I hate the nauseating feeling I get those first couple of days back, the worst. So I pretty much blame that and prolong another day. But what does this have to do with writing?

I love routine. Not so much for the routine itself, but for the organization it brings to my day. While I don’t perform the exact same tasks each day, I love knowing where things go and how they should be done; following an exact path. There is a problem however with routines and schedules and such: breaking them. Writing takes so much concentration and focus that I notice that the more I break into the routine of writing each day it slows me way down. It’s like trying to start exercising again. Once you’re exercising on a daily basis and are in a position to keep doing it, it’s really not so bad. It may take time to start, but once you start and are used to getting up every morning and hitting the pavement or hitting the gym your good. When your momentum is up, you’re up. But when you slow down and especially when you stop, it takes twice the energy to get back up again and continue the flow. I find the same is true for writing.

I would tell you not to miss a writing day, but I don’t really believe that. Instead I want to tell you to balance your writing life. While writing every single day keeps you in the habit, you can also get distracted inside your own head. You’ve been in the groove so long you haven’t the time to come up for air and see what the rest of the world looks like. As such you miss opportunities to write, influences that could have provoked a great story. Your writing sure, but you’re also too into yourself. You have not given your mind time to rejuvenate for a chance to birth fresh ideas. It’s like editing your own work, at some point you have to give your eyes rest or you won’t catch the constant flow of mistakes so easily recognized by everyone else. Instead, write as often as possible, but take a day or two and don’t write at all. In fact, try not to even think about writing on these days. I know I know I’m talking crazy now. I know that some people (like me) have very sensitive minds, that is, whether it’s writing or exercising its best not to stop at all. Any break can make the next move a great struggle. But, when you have the time to think about something outside the craft not only will it give boost to the creative mind, it also gives life to the work flow.

This is not about slowing all the way down and please don’t stop! Do that and your pen’s going to weigh a lot more than it actually does, trust me on this. But this is about balancing your time. Now that you have set time aside to write, give it the nurturing it needs by creating a balance. Write often, but stop every now and then to focus on something else without getting comfortable in your laziness. You really only need a day or two away from your writing to nurture the groove and get back to the work flow.

Dreaming

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They tell you to keep dreaming, but I am on a mission to stop the flow of dreams. To stumbling block my way through imagination, and the influence of certain memory. You see, there’s a secret to all these dreams. A hushed lullaby of awareness kept sacred within the chambers of understanding. A secret left deserted amidst the open square of objectives and goals and missions, and all this talk of entrepreneurship. It is easy to get lost here. To be an off scale balance of myth and reality. A sleep walking fantasy of coming and going wrapped up in fragmented steps and plans. Dreamers strive to illustrate the future with their talents, and to breathe life into the stillness of pictures that once belonged in books. Their striving is admirable to say the least since I too have goals I wish to accomplish. Yet while accomplishing them I’d hope to do so while awake; in the depth and breadth of consciousness. To never be put into a situation where I lose track of myself for the sake of adding humanity to fairy tales. The greatest achievement means nothing to the person who has lost track of themselves, and have opted to be boxed in, and to be mentally limited. It’s OK to have goals, but be not the sacrificial lamb to your greatest dreams. Do not do away with goal and objective, but be careful under the concept of dreaming, since to dream, you have to first be asleep.

Solange Wedding

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I know this is late, and I wasn’t going to say anything about it, but I keep hearing all these positive reviews and expressions of awe over these Solange Wedding pictures from women in the Black community and I just have to say this:

STOP just agreeing with stuff because it has a black face. Black doesn’t automatically qualify it as being good. Just because someone rocks an Afro, this does not make it revolutionary. There is nothing profoundly good about what took place here. There are some things to take into account before you throw in your praise:

Not only is New Orleans the hub for voodoo and witchcraft, but why are multimillionaires (who would collectively make that billionaires) hold a wedding ceremony in an old crumbling, run down building with chipping paint? That’s because this is not a regular wedding ceremony, but everything about this event is highly Masonic. I’m not going to get too much into it but just know that this is a very creepy picture. No one takes pictures like this and if these people were not famous many of you would agree but because you’ve somehow drafted them into your life there are some things many of you will never believe (like how the woman wearing blue bands on her ankles is the child bearer for the sacrifices. Sound strange? That’s because it is). You carelessly latch onto people who do not know, nor do they care, about your well being. Not every celebrity is your friend and they do not have your best interest at heart. Many of them are witches and warlocks who drink blood in their private time but because that’s too far out of your bubble it would take a miracle for you to believe it. And as long as they can call me crazy and throw me into the category of conspiracy theorist, why should you right? Good thing whether or not someone agrees is not the reason I blog. Besides, some of you are into this kinda thing. 

Are You Happy With Who You Are?

For most of you Society dictates your life. It tells you how to think, what music to listen to, how many degrees is enough to qualify you as important, and what kind of clothes to wear. Sadly, for some of you, the world even dictates your morals and values. What is right and wrong? What God should you follow and to what extent? How much devotion is enough devotion and what potency of truth is cult like? How much religion is too much religion? Why is the bible associated with religion at all? Or is that too far out of league to question? Or how much weight is too much weight? I keep seeing people, women especially, with their non-flattened stomachs out. Are pot bellies in now only because society said so? Let us expose our guts now because the world finally agrees that big is beautiful.

With all of this going on, what’s in and what’s not in, who’s perfect and who’s not perfect, my question to you is: Are you happy with the way you live your life?

This Blog and Poetry

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Copyright © Yecheilyah Ysrayl 2015.

 

As I prepare to release my 3rd collection of poetry next year (2015), I have to take the time to thank everyone who has supported this blog specifically for its poetry. Interestingly enough, in the attempt not to prematurely release pieces from the upcoming album, I have written a lot of new poems specifically to be featured on this blog; and as such will now be included in the book. It may seem that I’m “letting the cat out the bag”, but in all truth some of the poems that will make it to the book was first published here to this blog, and now they will also make it in the book. It would appear that blogging has in many ways helped to inspire me to write more and to compile a list of select poems I think will really speak to you, the people. I get to see which ones you really seem to like and those you don’t in an effort to make sure that this next piece is indeed a masterpiece. Blogging and Poetry…who knew?