Tag: poems

The Colors of Poetry

Photo by Craven Bing Jr. on Unsplash

dip me in chocolate-covered rhyme
like the color of my skin
a young woman once drowning now lives on the shores of truth
sweating similes from her pores
a fresh coat of passion that shines something like melanin
can I scorch you with radiance?
breathing inspiration like oxygen
singing compassion, smoking lyric
and sipping on rhythm slow like the stride of a black man
the crackling compasses beneath his footsteps
clutching couplets like purses confused
by the uncertainty of his smile
the sugarcoated twinkle in their eyes
or the question mark in her walk
her hips sway
like six children, no man, and give up
but I got this mouth full of simile
this fist full of irony
this metaphor-shaped voice in my throat
a delicate coating of poetry to wash away the broken
so let me cocoa butter your heart into the palms of my hands
be Vaseline to your ashy and together
we’ll bind the broken wings of peanut butter,
and vanilla
and milky way,
and dark-covered freedoms
like the colors of poetry
on my skin.

Yecheilyah’s 2nd Annual Poetry Contest 2018: Rules, Guidelines, Entrance and Prizes

Yess people! It’s that time! Time to reveal the guidelines to this year’s contest and our amazing prizes! Read on…

Yecheilyah’s 2nd Annual Poetry Contest 2018

Theme: Self-Care, Self-Love – Our theme this year is on self-care and self-love!

Submissions Accepted: Thursday, July 12th NOW– Tuesday, July 31st

*If your poem is ready, go ahead and submit it!*

Winners Announced: Wednesday, August 22, 2018

Guidelines

bitmoji-20180507070950

  • The poems submitted must be original work. This means that the poems must be written by you. If we find a poem that resembles any previously published poem in any way that poet will be disqualified from the competition. Poems must be your own work.

 

  • The poem must not be previously published in a book or anywhere online (including your blog)

 

  • The contest will be judged based on writing, style and how closely the poem adheres to the theme.

 

  • We are judges of the competition only. All poets are welcomed to enter regardless of race, religion, political views or location. All poems must be written in English and there will be no shipments outside of the U.S. In the event a poet wins this competition and their residence is outside of the U.S., any prize requiring shipping (if any) will be awarded in digital form. Ex. Ebooks instead of paperbacks.

 

  • All poets must be at least 18 years of age to submit.

 

  • There are no entry fees for this competition. Simply subscribe to Yecheilyah’s email list HERE and email your poem to enter. Anyone who subscribes only to unsubscribe before the competition is complete (any time before the winners are announced) will be disqualified for the win. Any subscription that has not been made before 11:59pm EST on July 31st will be disqualified.

 

  • Authors of the winning poems grant Yecheilyah of The PBS Blog and Literary Korner Publishing the right to publish the poems on her blog located at www.thepbsblog.com  as the winning poem. Permission is granted upon entry of the contest for publishing to The PBS Blog. The poets retain all rights and copyrights of their own work.

 

  • Upon submission, poets grant Yecheilyah of The PBS Blog and Literary Korner Publishing the right to publish the poem in the Literary Korner Publishing’s debut online magazine. The poets retain all rights and copyrights of their own work.

 

  • Multiple entries to this contest are allowed. If submitting multiple poems there is a 3 poem max.

 

  • Entry is taken as acceptance of ALL of these guidelines.

Submission Instructions:

bitmoji-20180426025707

  • Click on THIS link and subscribe to Yecheilyah’s email list. This will automatically give us your name and email address. Be sure to confirm your subscription is due to this contest by checking ‘yes’ next to “Is this a poetry contest entry?” on the form. *If you are already subscribed to my list you are halfway there! Just email me your poem*

 

  • Once you’ve subscribed to the list, please send your poem(s) to yecheilyah@yecheilyahysrayl.com.

 

  • Both of the above steps are needed for a poem to be considered submitted.

 

  • Submissions are accepted July 12th NOW – through July 31st 2018.

 

  • Winners are announced August 22, 2018 on The PBS Blog and across social media.

Prizes:

The grand prize winner of this contest will receive:

bitmoji-20180507070555

  • One $50 Amazon Giftcard (this will be a hard-copy gift card mailed to the winner within the U.S. Winners outside the U.S. will receive an ecard.)
  • Gift Card is nested inside a specialty gift box
  • Gift Card has no fees and no expiration date
  • Gift Card is redeemable towards millions of items storewide at Amazon.com

Why Hardcopy Giftcards:

For authors getting reviews, Amazon is strict about assuming manipulation when it comes to amazon e-cards, usually given away at contests. “If the author has ever given the reviewer a gift card, anywhere in the past, then all the reader’s reviews are considered “paid for” and deleted.” (Source: https://tracycooperposey.com/amazon-reviews-being-deleted/)

To help to protect any authors entering this contest, our gift-cards will be hard-copy and mailed, except in the case of winners outside of the United States.

  • Signed paperback copy of I am Soul poetry book by Yecheilyah Ysrayl (Winners outside the U.S. will receive a digital copy of this book)
  • 1 Writing Custom Designed Journal and matching pen to encourage your writing journey!
  • Front page feature and publication to Literary Korner Publishing’s exclusive online magazine designed specifically for this contest, debuting this summer.
  • Promotion on The PBS Blog and social media (over 700+views weekly)

Runner-ups!

We will be choosing some runner-ups!

All Entrants

All entrants have the opportunity to be featured in our first online magazine publication designed specifically for this contest so put forth your best! Only a select few will be chosen!

Don’t forget to support the contributors to this year’s contest.

Follow Tehilayah’s Blog HERE
Follow Lisa’s Blog HERE
Follow Kathy’s Blog HERE
Follow Tinzley’s Blog HERE

These rules will be re-posted again as we get closer to the contest so go ahead and write those poems! Hurry. Deadline is 7/31

When the World Loves You

I hate to have to be the one to tell you this

after all, you woke up today optimistic

and here I am

feeding you words that I know you do not want to hear

but I wouldn’t be much of a friend if I didn’t tell you the truth

about how the world loves you.

The world will love you

only after the soil hugs your flesh

when the breath leaves your body for that place it will now call home

the world will bring you home

on the backs of T-Shirts

and tattoos that kiss cuzo’s flesh

in a frame on grandmother’s wall

and in museums

popularize your name in a post

speak to you in a language that you will never understand

and in a voice that you will never hear

the world will love you

later

after the fact

like they did messiah

on their living room walls

force a crown of thorns around your head

sacrifice your body to social media

hang you

on their Facebook walls

hashtag your legacy

in cyberspace

they will celebrate you

like they never even did at birth

I warn you

they will throw you parties

bigger than anything your eyes could behold

hold you

in their memories like a nightmare

from which they cannot awake

you will haunt them

and they will love it

the world will love you in caskets

and in prayers

tell you secrets in the grave

they will confide in you

like a man to a woman’s hips

when the world loves you back

it is in flowers

and candlelight vigils

it is in marches, street corners, and pictures

the world will love you in laughter

and in memorials

in memory and regret

and I apologize that I have to be the one to tell you this

after all, you woke up today optimistic

but I wouldn’t be much of a friend if I didn’t tell you the truth

about how the world loves you

only in death.

This poem is inspired by “When the Hood Loves You Back” by Steven Willis. You can watch the video to my poem below. Don’t forget to subscribe to the channel for notifications of more poems.

The Journey Begins

Be sure to Follow Tehilayah’s new blog! Tehilayah is an inspiring author and poet working on her first book. She is also a contributor to my 2nd Annual Poetry contest!

Tehilayah's avatarNo Line Left Behind

Thanks for joining me.

Like any journey there are uncertainties. But how would we know what the journey holds if we do not at least try to experience it. Introductions are always awkward and sometimes uneasy so we will just jump into it.

My name is Tehilayah (pronounced, Te-hil -la -yah). Simple right? My name means, “Song of Praise to Yah”. Can you believe that I like singing. Yes, I sing everything. I make everything a song. For example, I sang instructions to my children to get ready for bed. Yes, there was a whole song. I personally thought it was cool but the look on my children’s faces said otherwise. It’s the side of me that’s goofy and carefree. I am a wife to an amazing and supportive man who pushes me to step out my comfort zones. Sometimes I can be a bit stubborn but I…

View original post 161 more words

YouTube: New Poems Added! Subscribe Today #NationalPoetryMonth #Poetry #SpokenWord

New poems have been added people! Listen to Her Bended Knee, Truth, I Was Not There and more!

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE!!

Her Bended Knee

Once a mother

always is

they bend their knees

to raise our kids

they laugh for our broken

as if never have cried, for our burden they soothe

as if our souls had died

they coddle our demons on the top of their heads

—colored gray with grief

fake smiles

and gritted teeth

a generation held together

by tiny pieces of silver string

those grayish-white pieces of hair

prophesy of her bended knees

their bodies ache

due our trials and needs

our depression states

our miscarried dreams

all have a home on the top of mother’s head

our souls they touch

our bull they fed

can’t wash the stench

of our almost dead

but they straighten their backs

and lift their chin

throw on their head

our hopes and sins

and at night

when we run the streets

and sleep in sheets

they bend their knee

and cry to sleep

and then wake up

all smiles and grace

let us never see tears run down their face

instead, see your life on your mother’s head

the next time you see those

grayish-whites

just know that someone prays for you at night

no tears be seen

all frowns be gone

just bended knees

and prayer songs