Tag: poetry

Something I’ve Never Written Before…

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This is something I’ve never written before
I guess it’s self-explanatory, the fact that
such words or thoughts have never escaped or made a
conscious departure from my thoughts

Never have I uttered such thoughts and wonders,
many that I keep hidden away, locked up in a
psyche that refuses to bare it’s nakedness to outsiders
in the world , to the unknown, to the unseen

Since this is something I’ve never written before
should I dare to even begin to write it?
words that can’t be traced back to its original being
once stated can’t ever be taken back?

Or should it forever remain a distant memory
of words that could have been spoken
but locked away in a passage leading to my mind
words that that will eternally stay hidden, not awoken

So, this is something that I’ve never written before
although I write down these words that I’m thinking
I’ve actually never written something like this
Should I dare to even begin to write it?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why I Write.

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So, I guess I could say that from a young age I’ve always loved words. It began with reading and you could describe me as a “bookworm” in the sense that my head was always wrapped up in the latest adventurous story that were printed on pages. Eventually I realised that words put in the right frame have the power to influence, educate and transform people, and that is why I write!

Previously I’ve expanded my work from poetry to Spoken Word which is a format of speaking poetry aloud to a crowd, once again with the motive of either educating or inspiring people. This can be used to support examples of famous speeches from Martin Luther King, to Maya Angelou to George the Poet. These speeches have gone down in history not only as revolutionary but powerful and motivating speeches that have changed the world. Evidently so, it has paved the way for many changes in society.
However, I attribute some of my works to artists such as Suli Breaks and DYLEMA who are both UK poets/spoken word artists. Not only because they are captivating in their words and writings but after seeing them both perform live, they’ve left that impact on me that still directs me to my spoken word pieces today.

Suli Breaks, most notable for his piece titled “Why I hate school but love education” which has gained close to 9 million views on YouTube is what particularly attracted me to his work. I guess what made it gain such prominence is the fact that it was targeted to many teens, like myself making it very relatable to some of the topics raised in the video. Topics ranging from not being able to fully express your uniqueness under subjects such as English or Maths, and topics such as Black History Month being limited to the generic understandings of Rosa Parks or Martin Luther King. He managed to create a distinction between the purpose of school and the purpose of education which many people could relate to sincerely, simply put it was a great spoken word piece.

Likewise, DYLEMA performed her piece “What If a black girl knew” at a university showcase I attended last year, and her words were truly inspiring. In a short space of 5 minutes she was able to poetically translate to a crowd, common issues that black girls face such as stereotypes of girls in society, insecurities relating to facial features and a lack of opportunities we come across. The fact that once again I could disclose my feelings towards this powerful piece is also what attracted me to her work and motivated me to start writing my own.

So far, I can say I have around three or four spoken word pieces that I can say is finished and accomplished in achieving its goals which is to inspire and to motivate people. I hope to develop my skills further in creating more inspiring pieces to showcase to people of my age and to others too.

Thanks for reading!

 

#MentalHealthAwarenessWeek

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In light of Mental Health Awareness Week, I have been doing a lot of thinking and studying of how mental health is dealt with in the community of young adults, as well as ethnic minorities.

Another blog post will be needed to explain my opinions on mental health in the community that I am from, which will be both young adult and ethnic minorities, but for now here is a spoken word piece that I wrote and performed at an event that was sponsoring the charity “Mind”. Mind are a charity that focus on Mental Health and they offer advice and support to people of all ages who may be going through any mental health problems. This may be through counselling or support teams who offer health advice over the phone. Check out their website to find out more and also to donate ! : https://www.mind.org.uk/

Piece:

Dear Mum
I’m sorry
Probably woke you up from pacing around the room last night
I promised myself I would be quiet this time, but It just wasn’t right
See this time round I could hear the ticking of the clock on my wall
As if it was physically driving through the veins and streams of my head
Preventing me from being able to talk.
Sorry that I sounded like a 2-year-old child being forced to sleep alone
Without the comfort of his mother’s arms generating heat, penetrating through to his bones
See instead I stayed in a room where, you might as well call it one of the poles
Because the cold that was circulating around was to deep for my soul
See, I’m sorry
But I just don’t get you
The minute I could actually verbally articulate just what I’m going through, you just say “darling don’t worry, it will brush right over you”
The sleepless nights, the constant headaches, wondering how you even made it through another day
Yeah it will just brush right over you
See I fail to understand, that because of the melanin that’s being released through my skin
I’ve been subject to numerous repetitions of my mother’s familiar words
Continuously piercing within
“it will brush over you”
See I find it funny, quite damaging how, I’m supposed to pray and expect it to go away
Like it’s a cold or maybe a rash even
But the constant fear of a panic attack, yeah there’s nothing that could ever match
To this pain, that I’m feeling
So, Mum I’m sorry, but I’m not sorry…
Not sorry because society puts me under a bracket of people who don’t understand their health
Not sorry just because I’m apart of a certain ethnicity I’m supposed to keep my hurt to myself
I know you don’t get it, but I will overcome
So, I hope I haven’t shocked you too much, made you go wild
This is just a letter, written from your child.

Stuck.

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Stuck.

The heavy Bonds of

Life

Hatred

Stress

Defeat

Failure

Worry

Constantly Leave Me Stuck…

I’m introverted and isolated from what God has clearly put before me

My mind has become strangled with the encapsulating expectations the world puts out before me

” Do well, succeed in life, try to ‘impress’ people “

But that “impression” doesn’t “impress” my mind and my thoughts

As I still miraculously fail to realise that these expectations build up and control me,

Leaving myself in my own shackles of loneliness

Which allows me to stray away from the only one that can set me free-

God.

Yet I still manage to fail to realise

That God’s almighty hold, strength and favour can ease into these steel chains

That are strangled around my bare skin

And release me from this entrapment that leads me to my own pile of tears each night.

Because these chains are tight

And they keep on getting tighter

As I consume what society echoes out into the world

And I immediately follow

As if we are their robots

And they are the master of creation…

But there can be only one master of creation

The one that put me in this generation

To fulfil my expectations

And gain my celebration

Refusing temptations,

Accepting liberation,

I’m longing for that relation

With God

But I’m stuck.

I fail to realise that God

 The one who knew me before I was born has set a plan for me

Set out my destiny

Knows what’s best for me

Refuses to leave me in jeopardy.

So no longer will I be stuck in in these chains of shame and guilt,

but I will be free like the wings of a bird who soar in the sky

I will be free like the air that flows through my body

Like the river stream I will be free

So that I can declare that I will refuse

To be restricted to these bonds and chains that hold me today

But i will be released into a world where God takes hold of my every movement and word

That escapes my mouth

No longer will I be

Stuck.

 

The Art Of Spoken Word

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Poetry has always been something that I can call therapeutic to me. The soothing sound of the words escaping from Maya Angelou or the strong stanzas of Keats dedicating his love for Fanny Brawn have me gazed upon how words can be put into paragraphs to have a powerful meaning…

Spoken word however has definitely caught  my eye. This form of creative is writing words based on feeling a topic or anything really and performing it verbally. I once found my amusement in spoken word the day famous spoken word artist Suli Breaks walked into my church to perform a workshop with us. He has been famously known for his spoken word pieces ” Why I Hate School But Love Education” and “I Will Not Let an Exam Result Decide My Fate” which has received a combined view of  over 13 million views.

Honestly, when he said that were going to write our own pieces, I literally wanted to laugh as I thought a piece that attracts millions of views worldwide would have had to be written with some good thoughts and imaginative minds. But what I failed to realise was that spoken word is personal. It’s absolutely up to you. It could be about family, sports, religion or passion for a strong subject. As long as you’re able to relate words together and combine them into a verbal saying- you’re  good to go! my first ever spoken word piece written on that day was of a picture of hands who had been chained up, but now had been set free. Automatically I felt my hand could not stop writing. All my thoughts and emotions to do with that picture immediately turned into a page of rhymes and aesthetically pleasing sentences. I absolutely loved it

If you’re not familiar with Spoken Word or would like to have a better understanding of why its so pleasing to hear to me – Check out some of these! :