The Art of Our Thoughts- My example

 The Art of Our Thoughts- My example.

                This is my example of free hand writing, or “word vomiting” if you may.

Every time I watch the sunset,

I feel like I mourn when it goes down.

The end of a day means another day spent,

In a life that often feels too short. 

I've tried getting better about letting my days fly by,

But it's so hard.

When the mundane routine repeats each day,

But yet we still never know when it's going to

END. 

But that makes sense right?

Because we don’t know how any of our lives will end,

If we were stuck in the moment of being alive. 

In our heads we repeat the words of the song and ask,

“If the world was ending, You’d come over right?”

But I am completely torn from this statement. 

I so desperately admire my independence, 

That the idea of having to have someone when the world ends,

Sounds needy, sounds harmful to what we’ve built. 

Because you’re at the point where you shouldn't 

Need Anyone. 

And yet you are T

O

R

N.

Because you know that's a sack of shit. 

We as humans are collectively beings who live for the presence of others. 

Their touch. 

Their voice.

Their smell. 

So forcing yourself into this mindset that you can take the ending world on your own,

Is entirely selfish to your wellbeing. 

XX-T

The Art of Our Thoughts

 

7/12/2021- The Art of our Thoughts

When having open discussions about literature and its different genres, there seems to be a definitive line of love or hate for poetry. A majority of arguments that side with disliking the art usually realm from a generalized perspective and categorizing all poetry as one thing, for example describing it as “depressing”. Being able to analytically dissect a poem in itself is a craft that takes time, effort, and an open mind. But oftentimes, the idea of reading or writing poetry makes people uncomfortable because of how easily the craft can become personal whether it be your own work, or someone else’s. 

Since the pandemic, so many people in my life (including myself) yearned to find a new hobby and have also struggled navigating their mental health. More often than not when I tell people they should try writing poetry, the first thing that they say is, “I would never know what to write about” or “writing is boring”. From a stance of validation I understand what it's like to experience writer's block, boredom, and lack motivation. But the beauty I believe that exists in writing is that any work can be turned into art. 

Within the last year, a majority of my writing has stemmed from allowing myself to verbally and physically release my thoughts through having conversations with myself alone or even on paper. Utilizing writing as an outlet to not only heal through trauma, but to relearn my love for writing has been an immensely validating experience. Oftentimes that is exactly what makes people uncomfortable about writing and reading poetry. It forces us to communicate ideas in so many ways that they aren't used to.  

Practicing this does not have to come from any specific realm or perspective. Visually verbalizing our life’s questions can be immensely powerful even if it is allowing yourself to contemplate and understand the existence of time, or why people like pickles. But it can also help you understand new parts of yourself, and have a better understanding of others and the world around you. 

Starting new hobbies are hard, just as beginning tasks we put off to the side. As I always say, the first step is always the hardest. But giving yourself some time to experience new art expands our ability for educational and emotional intake. As I said before, any writing can be turned into art. The best way to start this is to simply allow yourself to “word vomit” on the paper. This simply means, to write every work that comes to your mind. 

Allowing myself to do this at times where I needed to unwind has sparked a sense of calming when things are crazy. And let me tell you, by doing this, I have found some healing poetry gold. There is nothing cooler than working out your thoughts into an art that may help others. 

Often times, we avoid writing because of the fears of what follows if we share it, especially writing stuff such as this. But allowing casual vulnerability can open a new realm of understanding of yourself. So today take that step, write out the recurring randomness that flows through your brain. It may take you somewhere.:) 

XX-

T

Prompt- Open a book, and let your eyes pick the first line.

 Prompt- Open a book, and let your eyes pick the first line. 

    When I was a Sophomore in college, I had an amazing opportunity to take a Creative Writing Poetry Class. My Professor was a well known published poet,and was very helpful at helping me form my craft. In the class I wrote so many poems that I simply lost count. But, I still have every single one and love each of them. 

At the beginning of every class, we would start with a little bit of time to just write. But we would spark our creativity through randomness. Our Professor would pick a student to close their eyes, open their book to a random page, and stop their finger somewhere on the paper. The student would then open their eyes, and share the word or phrase they stopped on. And let me tell you, being in a room full of poetry wizards made every single one worth it. Because no poem was the same. 

Some of my favorite poems I wrote came from this practice. Examples of prompts included: 

• “I never told anybody”

• https://poeticperspectives.blogspot.com/2021/04/i-never-told-anybody.html 

• “Some call it eating weather”

• “In this Decayed Hole”

• https://poeticperspectives.blogspot.com/2021/04/seasons.html 

All of these poems will be posted in the blog and links will be provided in this post as well- so look out for them!! 

One of the books we used for the class was the Penguin Anthology of Twentieth- Century American Poetry. The book is full of work from famous writers all throughout the United States, from a multitude of gender, cultural, and sexual identities. All of the phrases above were from poems included in the Anthology.

Anthology: https://www.esowonbookstore.com/book/9780143121480 

More Black owned bookstores: 

https://lithub.com/you-can-order-today-from-these-black-owned-independent-bookstores/ 

 In the links tab, I will continuously post links to poems to do this with for my readers without access to books. I will also be sharing links to places to buy the books I write about throughout this blog! I will primarily be sharing links to sustainable, BIPOC or LGBTQ+ owned businesses. 

Send me what you come up with!! 

XX- T

Prompt- There’s a First time for Everything

 Prompt- There’s a first time for Everything. 

    In life, there is always a first time for everything. From your first time seeing the ocean, eating new food, to even when you realized you were not a kid anymore, or that you were in love. Identifying these moments can sometimes be difficult because we may have been too young to remember, people often become complacent with routines, or purposefully forget bad experiences. But I am a firm believer in “everything happens for a reason”, and writing about an important first time event in your life can lead to an immense creative breakthrough. There are so many first times in our lives, some that may have changed them for better or worse. 

For this poem: Think about a first time in your life and the emotions that accompanied it. Think about these things when brainstorming or free writing. 

• What was that moment?

• Why was it important? 

• Do you get nostalgia reflecting on it? 

• Did this moment impact your outlook on life?

• Personally change your life?

• For better or worse? 

Examples to think about:

• Your first love or lust. 

• Your first time driving. 

• Your first time realizing you were growing up. 

• Your first time going on an adventure. 

• Your first time you realized your love for writing. 

• Your first time you found love for yourself.

• Your first time realizing you may not be okay. 

Here are some links to my own poetry where I talk about a first experience, located on our blog. :) 

https://poeticperspectives.blogspot.com/2021/04/tr-now-knowing.html 

PROMPT IDEA FROM: https://writersrelief.com/2018/12/14/125-of-the-best-poetry-writing-prompts-for-poets-writers-relief/

XX- T