Poem 7: To Be Woman

Start:  11:06 p.m.

To Be Woman

By: Alyssa 

I feel the lives of all those before me running in my veins

To be woman means to carry on the human race

The thought that all life comes from my sisters is reassuring

Everyone came from woman

Everyone cares for a woman in their life

Yet won't speak out about the brutality towards women
      and objectification of women

We are divided often times, but when we come together, women can't be stopped

Years of silencing US are over

Years of determining our paths for US, are over

We are the fortunate women

Some women are still silenced

Some women's power is taken away - she must be submissive, she must not show that she is a person

She may be mutilated with her ability to carry life forever gone

Those of us who have had ancestors fight for us to be free

Must continue to fight for those who don't have their rights

We must stand together, educate women around the world and teach everyone,

What it means To Be Woman. 

There are still those who disrespect US 

Those that look down on us or consider US

"smart for a woman"

"attractive for her age"

"emotional and therefore unable to lead"

We are better than these stereotypes. 

We have the ability to lead and continue to make change.

End hypermasculinity and insecurity. 

Men, Don't forget what it means to you To Be close and to know Woman

Women, Don't forget what it means for you To Be Woman.

*Author's Note: The US is capitalized because it represents women as a collective "us" and particularly women in the United States.

End: 11:18 p.m.

Poem 6: Baby Brother

Start: 9:58 p.m.

Baby Brother

By: Alyssa

I was 10 years old when my baby brother was born. 

He was once a dream and then a reality

Now the reality is that the years have flown

My memories are fading, if only I had known

to write everything down and hold on

I wish I could remember more specifics of my happy, sweet boy

besides the things I regret

After wanting a baby sibling so long 

You would think I would have always been super kind

But alas I fell into the sibling jealousy plot

I wasn't the worst, but I wasn't the best

Sometimes I feel like I failed you,

But I'm trying to learn from my mistakes,

Make up for lost time and make the memories stay

This year was his first as a teen

Oh the scary things I have seen

The self-consciousness sinking in

Seeing flaws where there are none

Thinking he knows every little thing

Woah, sometimes he does and can school me

Heck he even knows of the birds and the bees

I'm taking the teenager thing day by day

Hoping I can help him find his path

For these years are shaping him into the man he will become

While I'm not worried in the least, 

I still want to make sure my baby brother pursues happiness

My wish is that my baby brother always has faith in himself

Always knows that I'm there for him no matter how far a part we seem

I hope that he always sees his self worth 

And ignores people that make him feel otherwise  

      Even though it's hard

I hope I remember what it was like to be his age...

Remember when I didn't take in what a blessing he was when I was his age

All of the things I thought life was throwing my way

I want to be a big sister he can relate to 

I want him to come to me for anything and everything

I hate being hundreds of miles away...

But I'm thankful that we are close,

Make time for each other, and

Understand that we have a bond that can never be tarnished or broken. 

The day my baby brother came into my life changed me forever

I owe him all the good in the world and I hope I can deliver.

End: 10:16

Poem 5: Come Together

Started: 8:51 p.m.

Come Together

By: Alyssa

Why do you feel your opinions and beliefs are correct?
Why do you ridicule and call names those that disagree?
Everyone disagrees on something in their life,
      Even if they're in the same political party, church, city, or family

If everyone would respect the Fact that we are all shaped by our OWN experiences
That these experiences lead to our belief system and views of the world
and that HUMANS deserve to be treated with respect and dignity,
even when they disagree...

We do not need to fight. We need to unite.
We need to get off our high horse and realize we are not 100% right.


End: 8:54 p.m.

Poem 4 : Pain for Profit

Start time: 12:39 a.m.

Pain for Profit

By: Alyssa

Imagine the worst pain you've ever had
Now imagine it never went away
No doctors visit
No consoling family member or friend to comfort you
No one to take you to the doctor

This is something I have trouble imagining
Any time I have been sick I have had someone to help me
Get medicine for me, take me to a doctor, be with me for recovery
Sure there were monetary worries, but nothing we couldn't handle.
My dad's good paying job had good insurance.

What type of world do we live in where companies profit from people's pain?
Where companies can deny or put years of debt on someone for something that happens to each and every human being: the body growing sick.

Who looked at humans and analyzed when they were the weakest and said, "Let's build upon this--the lowest point a person can be. How can we maximize their suffering to maximize business?"
People have come along the way and tried to end the system in which this mentality was built on and have failed. Why would anyone question the status quo?

It is too tempting to profit over feeling pain.
Too easy to love money over a person.
We are too busy worrying about our next campaign.

But imagine that you were the one who could not find relief from an unbearable pain.
Is that a world in which you could survive?

End: 12:49 a.m.

Third Poem: First Encounter with Life

This poem was written in response to a doctor appointment I had today. It's nothing serious, but I thought I had a simple stomach virus over the weekend and now it turns out I likely have something wrong with my gallbladder. I am overall very positive about what diagnosis or outcome may come at my next appointment; however, I had some feelings I needed to sort out through the written word. Hope you find it enlightening and insightful!

Start 10:40 p.m.

First Encounter with Life

By: Alyssa

Today was an interesting day
I've been healthy my entire life
But now there is uncertainty
Even though it is minor and probably an easy fix
It is still a strange encounter
Especially when I reflect on my age

The pain has been severe, but nothing I can't tolerate
My past is starting to make sense
There have been times when I wanted an answer
Perhaps this is my answer

I'm not scared and I'm happy to have a direction
The wait is just the problem
Over 24 hours until my ultrasound
Then I will know for sure whether its an easy fix
Or there will be more tests
But hey, I don't have tuberculosis so that's reason to celebrate

Time is ticking ....
The research is done now all there is to do is wait and know everything will be okay.

End: 11:04 p.m.

2nd Poem: Distance

Start: 11:46 p.m.

Distance 

By: Alyssa

Leaving you at the airport doesn't get any easier

Each time we hug and say our "see you later"s 

I want to start counting down until I see you again

When we don't have a date set for our next visit I start to doubt

But then I remember what our relationship is all about

A sweet text and long phone conversation

Make me love you all the more

When we can officially say goodbye to Distance

I know we will make it 

Because Distance has made us strong

It has taught me everything I need to know about you,

about myself, and about our relationship

I did not welcome Distance

But it appeared and has been a force for good

I look forward to our next adventure and know, 

Whatever Distance comes up, it won't separate us.

End: 11:52 p.m.

First Poem: Short-term and Long-Term Writing

Start time: 11:09 p.m.

The Short-term and the Long-Term Writing

By: Alyssa


Oh how I love writing
My family has been writing forever -
Starting as scribes in England in the 16th century.
Or so the writings tell us.

Why do I strive to write my thoughts and share my opinions through the written word?
Why can't I formulate sentences verbally as well as I can when I have a blank page in front of me?

My natural curiosity and desire to know "why?" is what makes me a short-term writer.
The long-term writer has a goal in mind, a story they are desperately needing to tell, and characters that need to be developed.

One day I hope to be a long-term writer, but today I must enhance my abilities and share through short-term ideas and stories.
Part of being young is experiencing life and coming into your own.
How could I focus on one thing when there is so much to learn?
So much to write about...more and more things each day!

I am a long-term writer, I will be writing my whole life. But I will write short term content.
Short term content allows me to expand my interests and share even more.
One day I hope I start a story that I cannot stop writing until I finish.
Whether that happens or not, we shall see.
But for today I am going to let my words be free!

End: 11:18 p.m.

Introduction!

Hello Poetry for Feels audience,  and welcome to Poetry for Feels. My name is Alyssa and I will be your wordsmith, adviser, long lost sister, comedian, conscience, and most importantly friend throughout this journey. I absolutely love to write, but the problem is I like to write about it all! I have started four novels (basically just got an introduction written and maybe an outline), two blogs, and yet nothing seems to materialize.

I have work full time and have a part time job on the side, so unfortunately I don't have (and often don't make) the time to write. When I am at my happiest and lowest I find that writing helps me organize my thoughts, record my most intimate thoughts, and is just where I find my bliss. 

Poems have a way of speaking to you and there is always time to write and read them. Plus it allows me to focus on the many topics of interest I have, so that I may follow my writing through to completion! I will be writing freelance poetry on this blog. Hopefully one poem a day, but life happens so I am not going to make any promises to you or myself. 

I am going to capture the start and end time of the poem, because I think time is such a unique concept and I want to see if time relates to various topics I will be writing on. 

I hope you enjoy Poetry for Feels! The word 'Poetry' in the title refers to the fact that I will be writing poetry, and the word 'Feels' has various meanings. As a verb according to Google it can mean: "experience (an emotion or sensation)". As a noun it means, "an act of touching something to examine it." Urban Dictionary's top definition is, "A wave of emotions that sometimes cannot be adequately explained." 

I hope this blog allows you to experience the Verb, Noun, and Urban Feels. I want reading my poems to be an experience, I want to examine my inner self and hopefully allow you to reach in and examine your own self. I want you to feel emotions that you can explain and sometimes can't. 

This is a journey for me and I thank you for taking it along with me! Please provide feedback as we go along. I'd love to know your thoughts and experiences! 

Also, if you have a blog I would love to read it, post a link in the comments.

Have a beautiful day! First Poem on the next post. 

Wishing you happiness, 

Alyssa