When the right poem is born it is all feeling. Taste and touch and nourishment. All heart and aching and lifting. Poetry is a revolution with a profound sense of strength. When the right poem arrives I notice it instantly. It is all moving like earthquakes so powerful that it breaks down mental barriers and knocks ignorance off Richer Scales. The right poem is not merely the ability to paint pictures with words. The right poem is a full manifestation of the heart. A complete contextualizing of the soul. The right poem is my entire body into words. Every piece of flesh, every tingling nerve. A spiritual essence poured out on the page.
Tag: poems
#RRBC WATCH “RWISA” WRITE Showcase Tour: Words by Yvette Calleiro
It’s August people and that means The WATCH RWISA (RAVE WRITERS – INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF AUTHORS) WRITE Showcase Tour is on and popping and I am honored to help to introduce to you some amazing writers this month.
Yesss.
First up, RWISA Member Yvette Calleiro
Words
By Yvette M Calleiro
The written word and I
Are cherished friends,
Embracing each other’s thoughts and emotions
Like kindred spirits,
Dancing on clouds.
Bosom buddies who gossip and giggle
And gasp at all the same moments.
She and I are equals,
More than that, really.
We are two parts of a whole,
Complementing and complimenting the other,
Perfect beings.
The spoken word and I
Skirt around each other’s social circles.
We stumble around awkward pauses,
Unable to pull the perfect word or phrase
From our filing cabinet of knowledge.
Ease and grace flee without a moment’s notice.
She is more skilled than I.
She whispers her intricately woven ideas into my mind,
But her delicate strength is no match for
The hills of anxiety and the mountains of insecurity
That obstruct her path to freedom.
Before her words can reach my tongue,
They unravel into shreds of confusion,
Left unspoken.
If only the written word and the spoken word
Could meet…
They would live in perfect harmony.
But alas…
It is not meant to be,
Neither willing to leave her domain,
Each content to dance alone,
And I…
I am stuck in the middle,
Pulled in both directions,
Reveling in the comfort of the written word,
Needing the spoken word to survive.
But still I dream
Of the day when my words will intermingle
And a new love affair can be born.
*Snap *Snap *Snap!
Thank you for supporting this member along the WATCH “RWISA“ WRITE Showcase Tour today! We ask that if you have enjoyed this member’s writing, to please visit their Author Page on the RWISA site, where you can find more of their writing, along with their contact and social media links, if they’ve turned you into a fan. WE ask that you also check out their books in the RWISA or RRBC catalogs. Thanks, again for your support and we hope that you will follow each member along this amazing tour of talent! Don’t forget to click the link below to learn more about this author:
Yvette Calleiro – RWISA Author Page
Yecheilyah’s First Poetry Contest: Announcing the Runner-Up Winner!
Hey Guys! The Runner-Up in our First Annual Poetry Contest is Live!
Congratulations to Jau’Nelle for her poem ““His Brooklyn Song (Where I left my Heart).” Be sure to stay tuned for the Grand Prize Winner! Her poem is amazing and you don’t want to miss it.
Important: The Grand Prize winner will be announced on this (PBS) blog.
Poetry Contest – Closed
First, I want to thank everyone who supported this contest. Whether you re-blogged or shared this across social media or participated, thank you.
I want to give a special thanks to Colleen Chesebro for allowing me space on her blog to host this and for promoting it in her weekly poetry features.
As you all know I have just released a new book and am just getting in from travel. It has therefore been a challenge to promote this contest and the book simultaneously. While I did not time the contest well, I am excited to have had the opportunity to do it and look forward to reviewing the entries and announcing our grand prize winner.
The contest is now officially over. I would extend it but honestly, it is not a good time. There are some family things to take care of and more travel in the near future. However, this is the first of many. My hope is to do this at least once a year, introducing to you more and more talented artists.
Until next time,
Peace and hair grease 🙂
On Sacred Ground
We planted songs
In cotton fields
Backs bent down
On our toes, our heels
Our voices prayed
When we could not
We planted songs on sacred ground.
Hope sprang from the callus on our thumbs
Watched as Massa sold our sons
Packed up freedom in the Mississippi dirt
Moved up North where pain wasn’t hurt
Silly us, couldn’t let it be
Thought strange fruit only grew on Southern Trees
Traded our crowns
In for concrete
Stopped growing our food
To buy our meat
Insects we traded for rats
Gave up the land
For the projects
Community tight, though enslaved we were
Gave up the land
To call him sir
He was after all, “The Man”
Suited and booted
like nobody can
But all that glitter, ain’t gold
Just because you don’t see chains
Don’t mean you ain’t sold
Stay true to yourself
Your history, your roots
Let no one come along
And steal your truth
Pay attention to what’s real
What’s sound
And keep your feet rooted
On sacred ground.
Poetry Contest Reminder: Closing July 19, 2017
As you all know, I am running my first ever poetry contest in honor of my upcoming release Renaissance: The Nora White Story (Book One) which features poetry and is available now for eBook preorders.
Click Here to order at the low price of $1.99 before the price goes up on July 15th.
This book will also be available in paperback.
You can help further by marking Renaissance as to read on Goodreads. CLICK HERE.
Now, poetry…
I am writing to remind you that this contest will end soon!
First, what is this all about? For those of you who have not already checked into Colleen’s Blog where I made the initial announcement on June 19, 2017, here are the rules:
The Poem
Submit one or two original, unpublished poems to Yecheilyah at yecheilyah ysrayl dot com (yecheilyah@yecheilyahysrayl.com) between now through July 19, 2017. You will have until 12:00 midnight Central Standard Time on 7/19 to get your poems in before closing.
Poems must be your ORIGINAL work and UNPUBLISHED anywhere online.
There is one winner of this contest with up to 2 entries per poet.
Entry Fee:
There is a $5.00 Entry fee. Click HERE to pay the fee.
OR – Entry fees can be waived by signing up for my email list HERE. There is no other way to waive the fee.
If you are already on my email list, please mention this when submitting your poem.
Signing up for my email list represents one entry.
If you are entering more than one poem, you must pay the entry fee for any additional poems.
The Reason for the Fee:
The entry fee is in place to help pay for the prizes.
Current Prizes
At this time, we have one Grand Prize Winner who will receive:
-
Poem published to The PBS Blog (includes links to your social media, buy links to your books (if any) and promotion.)
-
Amazon Gift Card
-
Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke
-
*From When I was a Black Girl by Yecheilyah Ysrayl
-
And Still, I Rise by Maya Angelou
*From When I was a Black Girl is my second collection of poetry. First published in 2012 with a second edition published in 2013, this book became a book of study at The Evergreen State College in Tacoma, Washington for the Fall 2014 semester. Part of an Independent Learning Contract, it remains part of the school’s files to this day. It is my honor to offer a paperback of this collection as a winning prize for this contest. This is an exclusive offer that you will not find on Amazon.
International Shipping
Please note: Winners outside the U.S. will be awarded Kindle downloads of the books listed if someone overseas wins.
Final Thoughts:
The winner will be announced on Monday, August 6, 2017 on both this blog and Colleen’s.
(If you win, you will be notified a couple days before the announcement via email you have won and that an announcement will go out featuring you. This is so that we can collect your information, social links and links to any books you have out if any).
The Grand Prize Winner will have their poetry featured on The PBS Blog with added promotion. The date for this will be revealed to the poet after they have won.
To enter this contest, please send $5.00 to the PayPal of Literary Korner Publishing HERE.
To waive your fee, please sign-up to my email list HERE.(Verification of sign-up will be reviewed before poem is accepted).
Send your poem to Yecheilyah @ yecheilyahysrayl.com
The Theme
Since Renaissance follows the theme of The Harlem Renaissance and Black life in the South, poems should have something to do with these themes and can be as long or as short as you would like. The contest is open to all poets.
I understand not all of you are familiar with this era so I am opening this up a bit. The theme will remain the same but it is not mandatory. Poems of all kinds will be accepted and considered for the win.
Would a focus on the 1920s era and women in general be nice? Yes, but it is not required to win. Consider this open mic!
If you didn’t see the original announcement, CLICK HERE to learn more.
That is all and I look forward to reading your poems!
ANNOUNCING: Yecheilyah’s 1st Annual Poetry Contest
Calling ALL Poets!! I am hosting my first poetry contest on Colleen’s blog. Stop through for details. (Yes, you can win prizes!)
The PBS Blog 