Do you remember the first time your work was shared somewhere other than between the lines of your journal?
Or the semi perfectly formatted pages of your website?
I guess technically we are published writers every time we become brave enough to let our words take shape on its own, releasing them from the pages we keep them captive on.
However it’s a bit different receiving an email informing you, that the poem that you submitted has been published on someone else’s website or in their book, or wherever else we loosened our grip enough to watch our words travel.
I am a published writer. Like an actual published writer.
It was surreal to scroll down and see MY bio under my poem on someone else’s website. You can see my featured poem here on PhoebeMD
It was also very scary…and before you think I’m crazy let me explain why.
For years, writing has been the one thing to remain constant in my life. No matter the length of the hiatus between us, I could always come right back to it. Comfortably-with no awkwardness and resume right from where I left off as if I had never left at all.
My journals never judged me about the ways in which I coped. I was never made to feel less than or labeled the “black friend” as if that was all I had to offer the world. Writing was/is/and will always be MY SAFE PLACE.
With that being said, deciding to open up my home-where I feel the safest-to other writers, and really the world is both exhilarating and absolutely terrifying.
What if this becomes something I no longer enjoy doing?
What if I get caught up in the superficial things and I no longer feel safe writing down the stories begging to be told?
Those are some scary thoughts and they are with me constantly….
Want to hear how I deal with those thoughts and how I try to keep my writing as sacred as the day I opened up my first black and white composition book?
Tune in next Monday to an all new episode of the iHaveWrites Podcast as we discuss the fears surrounding the things we love the most.
Click here to subscribe so you don’t miss the episode
Have you listened to yesterday’s episode yet?
Tune in and follow along as I discuss the aftermath of my most recent surgery and how such a terrible accident led to me pursuing what I love to do, which is write.
Also at the end of the episode listen to me read my poem, “do you remember when you knew you were a poet?” in honor of World Poetry Day which was this past Sunday!!
Listen to the whole episode here.
What is everyone doing today?
I am recording a new episode for my podcast! A new episode will be uploaded weekly. Tune in if you can, I’d love to have you!
Recording this poem was very special to me.
I wrote, An Angels Ascent for my Godmother, Tammy Boast. She passed away this past January and because of my knee injury I was not able to travel and attend her funeral.
So in recording this, part of me went back to the day of her funeral and read her this poem. My final goodbye to her. She was such an amazing person and I feel like doing this has peacefully closed our chapter. The healing can start.
I’ll be converting my published pieces into audio recordings that can be found on my podcast for those who may not have time to dive deep into reading.
Also in the future, I will have more than just poetry and blog posts uploaded to the podcast.
It will be a place where I will have unfiltered conversations with others about topics important to me and may be important to you as well!!
Stay tuned for more podcast episodes but in the meantime here is my first episode, a poem I wrote titled Where Innocence Once Grew
If you’d like to follow and/or subscribe as a listener to my podcast, you can do so here.
iHaveWrites 