Poetry Challenge Pause

Hi! I've been enjoying writing a poem a day (and also struggling somedays), and I hope you've been enjoying the poems. For many years I've said that I was going to participate in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and for many years, I simply haven't. I debated it again this year, and last week, God turned my imagination on full swing. I feel like I finally have a real shot at successfully completing the challenge.

However, I don't think it's wise to try to keep up with so many things at once! The podcast may be on a haitus but I still have planning to do for it, and there's the new YouTube channel! Maintaining the poetry challenge and starting NaNoWriMo sounds like a recipe for disaster. So, I'm going to pause the poetry challenge.

NaNoWriMo starts on November 1, and since I'm a master procrastinator, I haven't done a lot of the ground work I would like to do before starting (e.g. choose a name for my main character). I'm going to take these last few days in October to do some of that, therefore I'm actually going to pause the poetry challenge now instead of waiting until November 1.

I'll reseume the poetry challenge in December (and possibly still manage to get a poem or two written in November). Thanks for understanding!

A Message to My Future Self

I hope you don't think I'm crazy,
That every decision I was resolved to make
Was acceptable and for the best—
I hope you're somewhere scenic,
Watching squirrels run through trees
And listening to water flow in streams.
I hope you found someone
As adventerous and crazy as you,
Who balances you out and loves you.
I hope you're still learning,
That you're finally fluent
In a language other than English.
I hope you're happy
I hope you love
I hope you're the better parts of me

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Drew Beamer

A Message To My Younger Self

You don't know everything,
But you know more than you think you do—
It's ok to speak your mind,
But be sure of your mind before you speak it...
Laziness is you're biggest enemy,
One day you're going to wish you'd done more
And time will be slipping through your hands.
If you ever feel like you're missing out,
Trust me, you're not...
And they don't actually remember what happened
Knowing a classmate has died never gets easier,
But you will get stronger.
Use that strength to help those around you,
Because there's no point in reading a story
With only one character.

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Tony Tran

Gloomy Day

Gray clouds sweep accross
The sky so dreary and damp—
All day the rain falls

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Despo Potamou

Stopping Time

Time stops for a moment
And I stand in awe at the sights around me
Breathe in the air
Touch the textures of fabric
See the colors swirling
Smell the crisp of cinnamon
And hear the wind caressing the leaves...
A glimpse of perfection
Embedded in this moment.

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Nathan Dumlao

The Grand Gold Tree

Metallic gold leaves cover thick brown limbs like a coat
Stretching up into the blue of the sky above me,
And large round fruit bursting from the branches,
Vibrant hues of deep purple and blue swirling...
Warm and inviting, majestic and strong—
I am tiny beneath it's canopy, tiny beside its fruit.
I could sit in its branches for hours,
Listening to the rustle of leaves
And the scurrying of squirrels...
I doze off in the comfort of its safety,
Realizing I was already asleep.

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Patrick Hendry

Retail Therapy

I used to by shoes when I was sad,
     Shoes when I was stressed,
     Shoes when I was mad...
I love the smell of them fresh out the box
The scent of the newness wafting in my nostrils
The scent acting like an emotional detox—
And I would wear my new shoes feeling hip,
Confident in the way they looked,
Confident in the way they matched my outfit.
Not a single thing in life had changed,
But when I put them on everything was different
But when I put them on, my perspective was rearranged...
I used to by shoes when I was bored,
     Shoes when I was happy,
     Shoes when I was adored.

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Verity Sanders

A Message to the Father

Father, in Heaven, on earth and all around me—
There is so much I don't understand, so much to learn
And there is so much I don't deserve, yet here we are...
I have nothing of value to give you in return;
I can't keep my promises no matter how hard I try
And I wonder why You even bother with me, why You created me.
So I'm here, at Your feet, willing to give all that I have
You are the only reason I survive, the only reason I succeed,
And this is the only way I know how to say thank You.

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Kelly Sikkema

Growing Up

It used to be so easy
To write line after line
And now the topics escape me
Time rushes by like the wind
And before I know it,
The day has come to an end.

It used to be so easy
To stay up all hours of night
And now I find myself nodding
Unable to control my eyelids,
Losing focus each passing minute,
And needing naptime like the kids.

It used to be so easy
To think I knew the way
And plunge ahead recklessly
Without concern for consequence
But experience has opened my eyes
And now I question my competence.

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Sven Brandsma

Productivity Pendulum

Sometimes I take on too much,
I get excited about the idea of it
And find myself out of touch
With the reality I fit.

Sometimes I stare at the walls
For hours upon end just thinking
With nothing moving these calls
To do something more than shrinking.

Sometimes I get it just right
And pace myself throughout the day
I work in a balance to my delight
For productivity is meant to be this way.

Photocredit: Unsplah.com/Windows

A Message to my Success

There were times I thought you were too difficult
I thought I would break into a million pieces
Stretching myself here and there trying to succeed—
Study, hustle, work, hustle, write, hustle,
Struggles lead me to places I never thought I'd be
And lessons form around topics I never asked to learn.
But through all the anguish, I found a better me
And discovered that success is the experience, not the degree.

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/

A Message to my Failure

Failure is the start
Of an attempt at success...
The birth of progress.

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Esteé Janssens

A Message to my Hurt

When you let the wrong people in,
They decimate your mind—
The type of people who attack your dreams,
Attack your worth, attack your goals...
When they start, you kick them out fast
Lock the door and never look back,
But their real weapon was planting seeds—
Self doubt turns me into the attacker
The most dangerous enemy one can have,
And suddenly I'm attacking myself...

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Eric Ward

A Message to an Old Friend

For one summer, we were close—
Hiding away from bad influences,
Bonding over the Word of God,
Navigating transitions—
I learned that coworker and friend
Can be synonymous, can be harmonious.
I wouldn't have made it that summer
Without you there to keep me sane,
I would have given up
And nothing would be the same.

A Message for my Grandpa

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Gita Krishnamurti

A stranger asked if I was related to you,
They saw the resemblence
Even when I can't remember your face.
We have the same favorite food
And I talk a mile a minute, like you...
They say we're just alike
Even when I never learned your ways
We probably would have been close
But time was too short.

If you're starting to notice a theme with these poems, you're not crazy! I found a challenge for the month of October where you're supposed to write a letter each day and it tells you "who" the letter is for. I decided to do said letters as poems and incorporate them into the 365 day poetry challenge, so the ones that aren't too personal are being posted as my poem of the day.

A Message to a Past Regret

I remember you in all your quirkiness
Determined not to fit in—
I don't know if you were defiant
Or just more awkward than the rest of us
But middle school isn't kind.
We weren't ever friends,
We both had our own problems—
I saw them picking at you.
I may have even laughed.
I thought, we all get picked on
And we did...
But you had a rough life
Even outside of school;
Home is stressful,
Funds are short,
You're just trying to survive.
And I was worried about my own problems
I'm sorry

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Scott Web

Autumn Scene

Bright color before me,
Warm and inviting and bold
The color of fall...

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Aaron Burden

A Message for My Dreams

You are not too big
Impossible though you may seem
But even if you were,
You keep me going...
When I close my eyes,
I see you forming
And when I open them,
I see you you transforming—
You make me who I am,
So never stop expanding.

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Johannes Plenio

A Message for My Mind

God gave you freedom of thought,
Freedom to absorb and entertain
But every thought isn't for you to keep—
Be selective,
Choose wisely what you will allow
To take root and to grow
Tend the rows between neurons
And pluck out the weeds...
A healthy mind comes before
     Happiness
     Health
     Wholeness
     and Hope
So use your freedom wisely

A Message for My Heart

To my heart, so easily corrupted
Wait for a while, patient and steady
I need you to be strong
There's so many reasons to collapse
Reasons to give up and give out,
But you will not break—
Be careful what you let in
What you let near
Take your time and beat steady
And you will survive anything

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Bart LaRue