#OctPoWriMo: Rose Bushes
Last year, I participated in OctPoWriMo, a month-long poetry challenge where participants attempt to write and share one poem every day throughout the month of October. I successfully completed the challenge, but when everything was said and done, I had a pile of poems that were pretty random and didn’t gel together. Some were long, others were extremely short, and the topics had nothing to do with each other. This year I have decided to take on the challenge again but with another goal in mind. Create a more cohesive string of poems over the course of the next 31 days that will have a connected theme, and if you follow along to the end of October, then I’ll tell you what it is. (more…)
An Essay For Your Thoughts
I didn’t have access to a pen and paper. No ink blots were to be left as stains on my hands and parchment. There were no sticky notes around, no computers or phones to type with, and no notepads to doodle in. It was then that I knew that I wouldn’t be able to think.
At times, the only way I can dissect and delineate my thoughts is to write them down. I’ll have vague ideas in my head, stories sitting on the edge of my tongue, but no way of describing what’s bouncing around inside my head through word of mouth. (more…)
When Inspiration Comes From Pavement
After a trip to the restroom and a gulp of water, I lined up at the back of one of the final waves of the 2018 Surf City Half Marathon race. I was a little nervous about finishing the whole thing knowing that I hadn’t hit my mileage target. The words, I just might die, kept swirling around my head until the race announcer cued the sound for the start of the race.
I slowly inched out over the start line and followed the crowd of runners swiftly kicking their way down Huntington Beach’s stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway. I jogged amongst the pack of people for several miles until the crowd began to thin out. The sounds of chatter began to wane as gasps of breath fell in their place, and you can hear, just off in the distance, the cool ocean waves crashing on top of each other trying to taunt the sweaty runners nearby. (more…)
The Lost Letter
Five years ago I wrote myself a letter. “Dear Future self…” it began. I was part of series of letters that I had written every couple of years to myself since I was eleven-years-old. I had started keeping a journal after becoming obsessed with the Dear America book series for children and thought it would also be fun to keep another time capsule that I could open with surprise in the future. I would write briefly about my life at that time, what I was doing, and what I was interested in. However, the conversation with my future self always turned to the important questions. What does the future entail? What happens to me? (more…)
Living As A Light
I’m sure by now you have heard about the passing of actor and comedian, Robin Williams. Williams, who was 63, was found unconscious and not breathing inside his home in Tiburon, California, on Monday, August 11, 2014. He was pronounced dead of suspected suicide. Since then an outpouring of mourning, remembrance and sadness has been flooding every media outlet. It’s become apparent that Robin Williams wasn’t just an entertainer, but for the many people out there in the world, he was an inspirational light that has touched so many with his kindness. (more…)
