Tag: poems

The Most Irritating Thing about the Self-Care Movement

Posted on by Yecheilyah

the fact that everything is a movement now

like the importance of self-love didn’t exist

before Instagram memes

like healing is a status update

like self-care ain’t a journey but a tweet

like healing ain’t a process but words we hang

on our Facebook walls

and pretend we ain’t cover trauma in hashtags

I see healing differently

mistakes are opportunities

failure is strength

and self-love and healing is a process

paths that we aren’t always sure to take

we become masters of ourselves

only to begin again

like a battle we don’t know if we’ve won yet

a journey, healing is

and we master the parts of ourselves

until there are no more apologies

in our throats

until everything we do doesn’t sound like

sorry

until we value ourselves like we do

likes on a post

until burden ain’t heavy no more

cause we learned how to carry it

until we no longer carry it

until we’ve struggled so long

we don’t know what quitting is

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Introduce Yourself Author Interviews: Poetry Edition

Posted on by Yecheilyah

We interrupt your regularly scheduled Author Interview programming for this special announcement.

National Poetry Month, a celebration of poetry which takes place each April, was introduced in 1996 and is organized by the Academy of American Poets as a way to increase awareness and appreciation of poetry in the U.S. For our April Author Interviews, I’d like to feature as many author poets as possible. If you have not been interviewed on the blog, head on over to the Introduce Yourself Author Interview page (linked below) and find out how you can get involved! Stay tuned for next weeks final author introduction for March.

*All authors are still welcomed to participate in the interviews. These interviews occur every week on Monday’s. You don’t have to be a poet. I would just like to feature poets for the month of April in honor of National Poetry Month.

>> LEARN HOW TO JOIN. CLICK HERE <<

 

Yecheilyah’s Book Reviews: The Unveiling by Camille A. Frazer

Posted on by Yecheilyah
Title: The Unveiling
Author: Camille A Frazer
Pages: 132
Publisher: Frazer Mill Publishing (December 12, 2017)
ISBN-10: 0999523007
ISBN-13: 978-0999523001
*I was gifted a copy of this book from the author*
The Unveiling is a powerful collection of poetry from debut author and poet, Camille Frazer. Divided into several sections, the poems range from a variety of topics concerning the human condition. We learn of purpose, faith, hope, love, beauty and much more. The poems themselves are elegant and strong, forcing you to reread them for meaning and self-reflection. This is definitely not a book that you can just skim through. You will want to take your time and savor each line. Poems like Mana and Faith unveils a spiritual tone and set-apartness while poems like A Warrior’s Heart and Lionhearted are fierce. Some of my favorite pieces include: What is Love, Education, Lost, and Hidden History. Whether you are in search of your purpose in life, are in need of motivation from a spiritual perspective or are a lover of history, there’s something for everyone in this book. Check out the blurb below.

During her work as a children’s advocate, Camille A. Frazer has seen suffering and tragedy. But as she shows in this refreshingly optimistic new poetry collection, tragedy does not have to define us. Through her poems, Ms. Frazer examines the current direction of humanity and illustrates the importance of each individual life.

Ms. Frazer divides her work into distinct sections. The first urges a lesser focus on the individual and the recognition a larger whole. The second examines the fracture between the individual and society. It is at these breaking points, she posits, that violence has seeped in.

Even as Ms. Frazer examines societal ills like mass incarceration, slavery, and human trafficking, she never loses her faith in humanity. Her writing recognizes the failures of humankind but expresses the joys. She writes of tender familial love, passionate romance, and the all-encompassing support of the larger collective.

Her poems demonstrate an unshakeable faith in a better future for the world. Ms. Frazer believes that every human has a purpose, and is capable of compassion, contentment, and making meaningful connections. She hopes that her work will inspire you to find these gifts in yourself and then share them with others.

Rating:

Lyrical Factor: 4/5

Presentation: 4/5

Thought Provoking: 5/5

Authenticity / Believable: 5/5

Overall: 4.5 / 5

The Unveiling is available now on Amazon. Click Here.

Camille is also one of our featured authors. If you missed her Introduce Yourself interview, CLICK HERE.

 

About Camille Frazer:

Camille Frazer currently serves as Regional Legal Counsel for the State of Florida Guardian ad Litem Program. Ms. Frazer has been with the Guardian ad Litem Program for twelve years. Prior to her current position, Ms. Frazer was the Supervising Attorney in the 19th Judicial Circuit.

In 2005, she began her tenure with the Guardian ad Litem Program as a Best Interest Attorney in the 11th Judicial Circuit. While there, she also represented the Guardian ad Litem Program in the capacity of Litigation Attorney. After a one year hiatus practicing in the field of Insurance Defense, Ms. Frazer re-joined the Guardian ad Litem Program in October 2009, continuing her advocacy for the best interest of children.

Ms. Frazer earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University of the West Indies, Jamaica. She obtained her law degree from New England Law, where she served as a Senior Editor for the New England Journal of International and Comparative Law.

Ms. Frazer serves as a mentor with the Florida Take Stock in Children Program, which prepares high school students for college and provides scholarships to assist with their educational needs. She is also a member of the Family Support Committee with Habitat for Humanity.

The Unveiling is her first collection of poems. The poems cover the many nuances of a relationship between people, between an individual and a community. Ms. Frazer believes that every moment has meaning, and each should be utilized to achieve its full potential.

Got a book for me? Click HERE to order a review and promotion on this blog. Want to be interviewed too? Click HERE. (There is just ONE more interview slot for March. If you want to be featured THIS month, email me soon.)

A New Book Review and a Book Signing

Posted on by Yecheilyah

Don’t you just love being surprised by new reviews? Yes! I am Soul has a new review and it is just in time for the next signing. If you are in Georgia and have not yet grabbed a signed, paperback copy of this book, I’ll be at the Nubian Bookstore on Friday, April 12th in Morrow, GA. The signing will take place from 5-8:00p Eastern Standard Time. This means you good people can stop through on your way home from work. See how I consider you fam? Lol

Here’s what the reviewer had to say:

Grab your copy on Amazon here or order a signed paperback HERE.

And if you think you’ll make the signing, be sure to stop by the store. Details below:

Aborted Purpose

Posted on by Yecheilyah
Photo by Alexis Chloe on Unsplash

 

I know too many women aborting their purpose

Manipulating our daughters so that their dreams are tied to two horses

And the black family unit is pulled apart in both directions

And our sons are Willie Lynching their seed

On Fallopian tubes

And walking away

They forgot what grew there

They forgot there are trees with their DNA

and we gave birth to boys who never became men

I know too many women aborting their purpose

We forgot the generations of women we carried in our ovaries

at conception

So we miscarried Eve’s redemption

now the hand me down fabric of expired womanhood

dangling over the degrees of our bedroom walls

we traded our integrity for dried ink on top cream colored paper

the folded crease and stained remembrance

of what we used to be

before the glass ceiling defined us

the faded glory of the black family unit

before we were Diva’s

and Bosses

back in the day when we were content

being Queens

we traded our crowns

in exchange to do bad all by ourselves

now the stress

and the guilt

of 70% of black women

whose descendants will stare down the barrel of a gun

cause she couldn’t admit

that it takes more than a black mother

to raise a black son

YouTube: New Poem Added! Listen to “Grief” #Poetry #Spoken Word

Posted on by Yecheilyah

I wrote this poem in honor of my dad last year, inspired by a real experience. I was listening to Pandora and Yolanda Adams “Open My Heart” came on. I usually turn the station because the song reminds me of my dad who died of cancer in 2000. This time though, I allowed myself to feel. I allowed myself to grieve. I put this video together when I first published the poem to this blog but I am just now getting it uploaded as I am getting my YouTube grind back! Listen to the poem below, read the poem here and be sure to subscribe for more poems!

SUBSCRIBE HERE

 

Flesh vs. Spirit

Posted on by Yecheilyah
Photo by Tanja Heffner on Unsplash

My anxiety is loud

but so is this victory

so is this freedom

so is this awakening.

My mind is a Warzone

where black and white spirits roam

both demons and angels alike

where sorrow and freedom are both soldiers

fighting for the opportunity to possess me

to take up space

that is the residence

of my conscious.

My body is a battlefield

that society tries to sacrifice to its traditions

and I try not to bleed out

on people who never cut me

since I am both spiritual

and fleshly

like you

So I shackle myself to my integrity

being both in chains and free

enslaved to nothing but truth

a special kind of liberation

submitted

as I strive to overcome this war

between my flesh

and my spirit.