This post is especially dedicated to my fellow writers out there as well as to the people who do not quite understand what a pen name is. A pen name for those of you who need a dictionary definition is ” an author’s pseudonym: Also called: nom de plume.” In other words, it is a name that an author/writer uses instead of their real name. One of the pen names I use is eswaller (or something along those lines), especially for my DUP account. It is a way to remain anonymous and hidden, so no one knows your true identity. Although people who know me quite well know that pen name as it still contains parts of my name. I write as my real name on my blog, despite the fact that my blog name is Messy Ties (you can find the explanation of why I came up with that in my very first blog post about 4 year).
A pen name is someone’s identity and it is WHO they are. Terri Guillemets has a great quote that explains it. She says, “Pen names are masks that allow us to unmask ourselves.” In other words, I believe pen names allow us to wear masks while still being who we are. Maybe I did not explain that quite well or maybe I did. I think pen names gives us a chance to unmask who we truly are. Pen names give us some kind of protection like a mask does. And people choose to use different pen names for different reasons. Those are personal decisions. Anyways… I am going to keep this post short since we can go on and on about pen names and their importance and why they exist. I want people to understand a little more about pen names and why they exist. Here is a poem I wrote about why I chose eswaller. I hope you enjoy!!
Eswaller Explained
E as in Elena, named after my dad’s cousin. S as in Salniker, a family name that crossed Oceans and escaped persecution years ago. Waller, another family name that crossed State and borderlines. Together that makes Eswaller, unmasked and ready to set my Pen to paper, living a life I have chosen. I am proud of the family I come from.
I know I have talked about breaking down. So some of this may sound like a repeat. In this case I am talking about things that cannot break us. Someone may try to break us, but it about getting back up. We are breakable, but we are also unbreakable which means that some things and people can try to break us, but will be unsuccessful. That right there leads me into my first quote. “You’re a diamond, dear. They can’t break you.” Being unbreakable in my mind is a lot like being a diamond or steel because being unbreakable is also being indestructible, which means you cannot be destroyed. In my mind diamond=indestructible.
In this last year and in years past I have learned how to become a strong person despite what people think they know about me. It is like what Denzel Washington said. He said, “You can’t break me because you didn’t make me.” There is so much truth in that one quote because no one can truly break you. You cannot give anyone that power to break you because the truth is that you made yourself. People try to knock you down, but they should know by now that you come back stronger than ever. In all honesty people cannot break you because like this next quote says you have already been broken. “They can’t hurt me anymore, there’s nothing left to break of me, nothing left to take from me.” So in other words they cannot take anything more from you.
I figured this would be a good post to start 2020 with because like I said before, this last year has been learning to become unbreakable despite what people throw my way and what people think they know about me. The truth is that no one knows what I have been through and let’s keep it that way. I want to conclude this post with one more quote. “You will get tired of knocking me down, before I get tired of getting back up. I promise you that!” So do not bother trying to knocking me down because you will realize that it will get you nowhere.
There is so much more that I could say and there is so many more quotes I can include in this post, but I will conclude this post right here. I wish everyone a happy 2020!! This post and following poem is dedicated to all the warriors out there. This poem received runner up position for a competition on DUP. When you look up the definition of warrior in the dictionary one of the definitions is the following: “a person engaged or experienced in warfare; soldier.” So I thank all the warriors out there. Once again happy 2020. I wish everyone a prosperous and healthy new year. Thank you for another trip around the sun. This would be the 3rd year I have had this blog and I want to personally thank all my supporters. Here’s to another year, cheers!!
Warrior
With my heart beating loudly in my Chest and my sweaty palms I refused To back down from the challenge that Was awaiting me. I refused to cry Any more than I already have. He confused Me with someone who does not combat
Their demons or shadows every day. That night I stayed awake until 2 am Because once again he made me feel Like I was unlovable, but that one ray Of sunshine poked through a broken dam That tried to drown me. I am made of steel
And all the strong stuff. I went right past The red flags because I loved hard as I always do no matter the situation or Person. I am made to survive and last Long past the winter’s storm. What has Me down does not matter as I ignore
The doubters and haters because They think they know my weakness When in truth they know absolutely Nothing about me. They never pause And ask right questions. The bleakness In my eyes never caused their mutely
Mouths to truly ask me about me. Instead they ask me about my job And not enough asking about if I got Enough sleep. I wonder if they see What they want to see. A girl bobbing And weaving to the top. They forgot
That I have obstacles too and that is how I became a warrior standing on her feet now.
I want to end this year (happy early 2020 by the way) with talking about mantras. I know that I have talked about them before, especially in one of my earliest posts back when I first started this blog. When someone looks up the definition of mantra in the dictionary one of the definitions is the following: “an often repeated word, formula, or phrase, often a truism” (dictionary.com). I think of a mantra as something we repeat when we are going through rough times or it can be that reminder we remember every day. Everyone in this world has a different mantra like what Russell Brand says. “Everyone has their own mantra.” There is truth to that because everyone is district and has their own goals or aspirations. For example, my mantra could be different than someone else’s. Why? Who knows, but that should not matter. We are all just trying to make the world a better place and brings something positive. It is like what Sogyal Rinpoche says. “The definition of mantra is ‘that which protects the mind.’ That which protects the mind from negativity, or that which protects you from your own mind, is called mantra.” I definitely have to agree with that quote because a mantra is indeed something that protects us from going to a negative place which leads me to my next point.
I also think that a mantra is something positive because I do not think there is any point of having one that is negative. Robin S. Sharman says, “A mantra is nothing more than a collection of words strung together to create a positive effect.” In other words you are putting this mantra out into the world to create a positive effect and change. A mantra is something to believe in. One of the mantras I have used in the past and I still try to use it whenever I can is: “I’m beautiful and good enough.” You can view my post titled “New Mantra: I Am Beautiful and Good Enough” to learn more about the inspiration behind it. I figured this would be a good way to end the year. Because mantras are important and are a good way to start off the new year as well.
I want all of my readers to think long and hard about what their mantra is. Write it on a post it note and put it in a place you can see it. I know it sounds silly, but say it out loud to yourself every day or you can whisper it. This mantra can be as short or as long as you want it to be. Mantras serve a purpose in life. I hope my readers enjoy my final poem of 2019. The below poem won runner up for a competition on DUP. And I wish everyone a happy 2020! May this next year bring you everything you wished for. Cheers!!
My Mantra(s)
Be myself in a world that is filled With too many people who pretend To be someone else. Be a light in A dimmed or dark room. I build Myself back up when I spend Time getting knocked down. Grin And smile even when I just want To hide away for a little bit. No one Can ever take away my dream or My hope. Spend time and energy On those who deserve it. The sun Is right there in the way I ignore Self-doubt and killers. Yesterday Is in the past and I am walking Towards a better tomorrow. I am Letting the truth spill out instead of Hiding behind lies. Stop clocking In and out of prison. Let the slam Of the door be definite. I will find love.
I know that I have talked a lot about my source of inspiration, especially as a writer and human being. I take pleasure in being a poet because there is inspiration all around me every day. I cannot name a specific thing that I find as my source of inspiration. It could be a situation I have been in or just being an observer of what goes on around me. I just love sharing my thoughts and feelings in every piece that I write. Yes, I do consider myself an artist because I create pictures. I think this quote explains it in the best way. “Art has the power to transform, to illuminate, inspire and motivate.” If I can do at least one of those things with my art then my job is complete. Poetry is not necessarily what we say, but a lot of the time it is how we say it. That is what the next quote by Mahmoud Darwish says. He says the following. “The importance of poetry is not measured, finally, by what the poet says but how he says it.” I can go on and on about inspiration, but I will leave my readers with the following. Being an artist, especially a poet is all about sharing memories, sharing feelings and most importantly sharing thoughts. I hope that everyone enjoys the following poem!! I am going to let this poem speak for itself.
Sharing Memories
The world awaits me, waiting for me to notice The small ripples in the creek, the tallness of A mountain or when a couple embraces love. The world’s beauty is captured through a lotus
Flower that opens its petals for the first time in Spring and blooms in summer. The steady click Of a camera; the mental memory. Never be sick Of the mundane things like raindrops or dry skin
While standing in the middle of a desert because Being a poet means sharing those moments, big And small like a heartbreak breaking me like twig, My heart in half as I clean up the mess. The cause
For concern as I try to navigate through the rough Terrains of the road ahead and the shadows that try To entice me. I become observant of tears people cry As they pretend to be okay and continue to be tough
For the rest of the world on standby. But no one sees Me watching and observing from the hidden corner Like a faithful bird watcher. A sorrowful mourner Who lost love, but it remains in new grown trees,
Roots and flowers. A poet and writer with my pen Who only wants to write the truth, even if it means I bring sorrow to an empty table. The truth redeems Matters of the heart. Everything is released again.
I have been discovering and sometimes rediscovering poets. One of those poets is Rupi Kaur. I discovered her maybe about a year or two ago and before I moved I got her more recent book the sun and her flowers. I like her work because her poems are on the shorter side, but get straight to the point. She also includes some kind of drawing to go with her work and I really enjoy that. A lot of her work comes from a female and immigrant perspective. I really come to appreciate that as well. Anyways, here are two poems I wrote just recently, inspired by some of her poems. As I get to read more of her work she has become one my role models and I hope that she can be one for others, especially young girls. I hope that you enjoy the following poems tremendously!!
Body Love Letter (Rupi Kaur Tribute)
Dear Body,
Thank you for giving me a body that is only mine And no one else’s. You are taught to be skinny Or curvy because there is no place in between.
Why should it ever be a boy or man to intertwine With to make your soul more whole? It is a pity To be taught you need a man’s love to be a queen.
You are no one’s pit stop or someone’s temporary Home. Thank you for your kindness and for carrying Life into tomorrow as well as for many years to follow.
You deserve a multitude of rest when you are weary And bone tired. Your secrets try to hide, but burying Them is no way to live. You are not empty or hollow.
You are a ship and a vessel that has survived every Storm. You have taken every bullet like a soldier in War. The world thinks you need to add some bells
Here or there. They may even think you are too deadly Or natural to survive, but you have grown into your skin From a tiny poppy seed. You are my protective shell.
So I thank you.
Sincerely,
Me
And here is the second one.
Unforeseen Heartache
Nobody thought it would be this hard Losing a friend or a lover, but then You are thinking of them when a card From them shows up once again. The slow, trickling tears come back, Not like a train that suddenly hits you Or the onslaught of rain as the black Sky swallows you. It slowly builds to The point where you get subtle aches. There are no words to describe it, not Even on the radio. They are heartbreaks You have no time to prepare for. A knot And other symptoms appear, sometimes Months later when you are clearing out Space in your heart for new butterflies To hatch. When you choose self-doubt And think of the times when things were Less difficult you never stop to let this Loss go completely. Their absence stirs Within your soul and their love, amiss.
I want to start off by saying some of this may sound like a repeat. Time is a precious thing in life. We either cherish it or we worry about it. Sometimes time goes by quickly. In life there is such a thing as wrong place and wrong time. Some people point out to me that with the right person there is such a thing as right place and right time. That brings me to a quote by Kabir Bedi who says “Everything has a place and time.” That is so very true. With the wrong person there is such a thing as wrong place and wrong time. That is also very true.
There is this expression/quote that says you meet the right person at the wrong time or you meet the wrong person at the right time. I think that is what a lot of people say, especially when it comes to romantic relationships. I am beginning to think that is wrong as well. That brings me to a quote that says, “The right person at the wrong time is still the wrong person.” In other words it does not matter if it is the right or wrong time that person is STILL the wrong person and deep down you will simply know without a doubt if they are the right or wrong person. Sometimes it is a human tendency to fall in love with the wrong person, but I am not going to get too much into those details right now. It is just how life works sometimes.
Wrong place, wrong time also has a lot do with certain situations besides love. We make a lot of wrong turns sometimes and those wrong turns can either lead somewhere where we are meant to be or it can just make us turn in a different direction. Like I said before, there is no such thing as wrong place and wrong time as Shashi Tharoor says, “There is not a thing such as the wrong place, or the wrong time. We are where we are at the only time we have. Perhaps it’s where we are meant to be.” In other words, there is no such thing as wrong place, wrong time because we are exactly where we are meant to be. Anyways, this is a topic we can talk about for days and days, but I am going to stop right here because this is the right time to do so. I hope you enjoy this poem, which won 1st place in the “Wrong Place; Wrong Time competition on DUP.
Wrong Place, Wrong Time
It was fate when you messaged me that night, Catching up like we were old friends. We had Not spoken since high school. Years later and I would learn we were in the wrong place at The completely wrong time.You were the light At the end of the tunnel and made every bad Day better. It was not until I held onto his hand I knew you and I had soul ties, but I combatted
The feeling we were not compatible. We had to Take many wrong turns before we finally made The right turn, but it was the wrong turn too. No Matter how many chances and opportunities we Had we were knocking on the wrong doors. You And I knew after that phone call we would fade Into nothing, but the memories will always follow. With you and I there was a love truly lost at sea
With no way to come back from the devastating Or treacherous storm. Time will stop waiting.
Let me just say this right off the bat. I love to travel and I have been to so many places already. Places like Australia, Hungary (Budapest), France, Italy, France, Turkey, etc. I am not here to boast about the places I have been to, but the one thing that I love about traveling is seeing all the unique places around the world. We can even see the uniqueness in our own back yard or hometown or a place we have come to call home. I have come to appreciate my hometown that much more because it is so unique. I feel like Wendell Berry says it the best. “There are no unsacred places; there are only sacred places and desecrated places.” There are times when you have to leave that unique place behind, but you learn so much from being in that place to begin with.
You begin to appreciate every place’s beauty and it is like discovering the world’s hidden gems. They are not always easy to find like what Kamaran Ihsan Salih says. “The precious gems are hidden, it is not easy to find them.” That is why I feel like they are called gems. They are precious and hidden very well from our view. Like I said before I have come to appreciate and love my hometown of Oakland, California that much more. I spent so much time there and have so many memories of such an incredible place. There are some lyrics from Adele’s song “Hometown” that speaks to this. “In my hometown memories are fresh.” And that lyric is so absolutely true because in everyone’s hometown there are memories that will be fresh in their minds no matter where they go.
Someday we may go back to our hometown and it could feel the same or different. I always think back to when I went to college and then came back afterwards. In some ways it changed and in some ways it stayed the same. I am going to throw one more quote into this post. Sam Ewing says “When you finally go back to your old hometown, you find it wasn’t the old home you missed but your childhood.” That quote is very powerful because it is not necessarily the place you miss, but it is the memories that you miss instead. I hope that my readers come to appreciate the beauty of their cities or place where they are right now. Enjoy my poem down below about my lovely “unique” place.
Oakland, California
Twenty-seven years of my existence, scattered around and Hidden within the precious gems of Oakland, where I grew Up. It is like you keep rediscovering every forgotten nook. An airport with tearful and heartfelt goodbyes with a hand That is hard to let go of. With every minute passing through It gets more difficult to part ways with a place that hooks You with its charm and hometown feel. It is like luggage, Lost but then found again among the panoramic views of The city. The memories that are fresh yet years old, like The boy I loved here with my heart among the wreckage And the floorboards that creak beneath my feet. A love That is lasting longer than the sky’s quick lightning strike.
I know I have talked a lot about changes and making changes so sorry if some of this sounds like I am repeating myself, but I am going to also be talking about something a little different. We all go through changes, some major and some minor. Those changes take our lives in a different direction sometimes. That leads me into a quote I have come to love a lot. “In the waves of change we find our true direction.” It is a great quote because when we make changes it gets us closer to the direction in which we are meant to go in. In fact, I am going through a major change this year and it should take me in the right direction. I will not dive too much into detail since the major change is still in process, but maybe once it happens I will share with my readers some day.
Anyways, I found another quote that I also really love by Bryant McGill. He says “The tides of change have great purpose in life.” In other words, changes do have a purpose or meaning in our lives. They mean something. There can also be a change in the destination. So all of this is to say that you should embrace every change and shift in direction because although you may not always know where you will end up you will still go somewhere.
Honestly it is good to make changes especially BIG ones. That leads me to the last quote for this post by Dave Cornthwaite. He says “If you’re feeling like you need a big change in your life just start saying yes more and new things start to happen.” So in other words, say yes to change instead of saying no. I know change is scary, but sometimes we need to shake things up and break away from the same old things. So in conclusion, I strongly encourage my readers to make that change, whether it is big or small. In the end, that change will be worth it. I hope that my readers enjoy my poem!!
Making a Change
Something within my heart led me Towards you and you embraced all Of me as the fractured pieces were Finally beginning to come together.
As I set sail something in the sea’s Waves and tides changed. The wall Fell. A different direction spurred Me forward toward a new weather
Pattern that began to emerge. I was Leaving behind fog, heartbreak and Grey skies. Up ahead was sunshine. I outdistanced the old me by miles
And miles. It was simply because I never had the courage to stand There, unable to draw a new line. I had the same old and fake smiles
Day after day, but you must have Seen something in me because you Told me to say yes to the change in In my heart even as it led me down
Another path, creating utter havoc Along the highway. It might be too Tricky someday, but under my skin My soul is telling me to leave town
And one of the biggest changes of All is finding another place to love.
We just recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of when we landed on the moon. I thought I would pay tribute to that anniversary. I feel like the moon can teach us a thing or two. I feel like the moon is a symbol of hope. So if we can fly to the moon and walk on the moon I feel like anything else in life is possible. That leads me to a quote I have come to love a lot. “Once upon a time, someone believed they could fly to the Moon and walk on it. Dreams do come true.” In other words we should believe in our dreams no matter what. I feel like the moon and stars are interconnected in some ways.
I feel like there would be no moon without stars and vice versa. They are the ones to appear when the sky becomes dark at night. We learn to follow the moon and the stars equally. We all look at the moon at some point in our lives and that says so much. Both the moon and stars teach us to count our blessings. There is always someone out there who is looking at the moon too. That leads me into this next quote. “If you’re ever feeling lonely just look at the moon. Someone, somewhere is looking at it too.” So in other words, you are never truly alone out there in the world because someone is also feeling lonely. There are so many other things to be said about the moon and quotes too, but I think I will just leave everything as it is. Enjoy the pieces down below.
When I was in college I took an interesting class my senior year. It was Nature Writing. One of the writers we talked about and read in that class was Wendell Berry. I always try to broaden my horizons when it comes to reading and following an author/poet’s work. Wendell Berry is one of those people for me. He and Mary Oliver are similar in some ways because they both bring nature into their work. I feel Oliver’s is simplistic in some ways and Berry’s work is slightly more complex. Anyways, one of Berry’s pieces/poems that I came across was “The Country of Marriage.” I am including the text from that poem down below.
I. I dream of you walking at night along the streams of the country of my birth, warm blooms and the nightsongs of birds opening around you as you walk. You are holding in your body the dark seed of my sleep. II. This comes after silence. Was it something I said that bound me to you, some mere promise or, worse, the fear of loneliness and death? A man lost in the woods in the dark, I stood still and said nothing. And then there rose in me, like the earth’s empowering brew rising in root and branch, the words of a dream of you I did not know I had dreamed. I was a wanderer who feels the solace of his native land under his feet again and moving in his blood. I went on, blind and faithful. Where I stepped my track was there to steady me. It was no abyss that lay before me, but only the level ground. III. Sometimes our life reminds me of a forest in which there is a graceful clearing and in that opening a house, an orchard and garden, comfortable shades, and flowers red and yellow in the sun, a pattern made in the light for the light to return to. The forest is mostly dark, its ways to be made anew day after day, the dark richer than the light and more blessed, provided we stay brave enough to keep on going in. IV. How many times have I come to you out of my head with joy, if ever a man was, for to approach you I have given up the light and all directions. I come to you lost, wholly trusting as a man who goes into the forest unarmed. It is as though I descend slowly earthward out of the air. I rest in peace in you, when I arrive at last. V. Our bond is no little economy based on the exchange of my love and work for yours, so much for so much of an expendable fund. We don’t know what its limits are– that puts us in the dark. We are more together than we know, how else could we keep on discovering we are more together than we thought? You are the known way leading always to the unknown, and you are the known place to which the unknown is always leading me back. More blessed in you than I know, I possess nothing worthy to give you, nothing not belittled by my saying that I possess it. Even an hour of love is a moral predicament, a blessing a man may be hard up to be worthy of. He can only accept it, as a plant accepts from all the bounty of the light enough to live, and then accepts the dark, passing unencumbered back to the earth, as I have fallen tine and again from the great strength of my desire, helpless, into your arms. VI. What I am learning to give you is my death to set you free of me, and me from myself into the dark and the new light. Like the water of a deep stream, love is always too much. We did not make it. Though we drink till we burst we cannot have it all, or want it all. In its abundance it survives our thirst. In the evening we come down to the shore to drink our fill, and sleep, while it flows through the regions of the dark. It does not hold us, except we keep returning to its rich waters thirsty. We enter, willing to die, into the commonwealth of its joy. VII. I give you what is unbounded, passing from dark to dark, containing darkness: a night of rain, an early morning. I give you the life I have let live for the love of you: a clump of orange-blooming weeds beside the road, the young orchard waiting in the snow, our own life that we have planted in the ground, as I have planted mine in you. I give you my love for all beautiful and honest women that you gather to yourself again and again, and satisfy–and this poem, no more mine than any man’s who has loved a woman.
Anyways, it is a beautiful poem. I never really read any of Berry’s poems until recently because of a competition on DUP. My poem was runner up, but first let me just reiterate my point of Berry’s connection to nature like in the poem I just included above. He ties it all together and makes the connection between nature and marriage. I could go on and on, but I think I will let that poem speak for itself. I will conclude by bringing up a quote I think goes along with what this post talks about. Berry says “The earth is what we all have in common.” In other words the one thing that connects us together is our earth and that itself says so much.
There are so many other quotes I found, especially by Berry. I will bring two more quotes to the forefront. Nature is very important to our existence. Berry says, “Whether our politicians know it or not, Nature is party to all our deals and decisions, and she has more votes, a longer memory, and a sterner sense of justice that we do.” That is one of the other things we talked about in that Nature Writing class. Social/Environmental Justice and how important our environment is. It is the deciding factor in a lot of things.
I know I have brought this up before, but we must care for this earth. Berry says, “The care of the Earth is our most ancient and most worthy, and after all our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it and to foster its renewal is our only hope.” Enjoy the poem down below and go out to enjoy nature, something that is around us every day. It is meant to be enjoyed and cherished as it is. There is a picture I included in additional to the poem.
The Promise of Marriage (Wendell Berry Tribute)
I dreamt of you walking towards me As you leave the shadows behind and The lights within your soul are brighter. I want to meet you alongside the river’s Edge – my sanctuary and where I see Us building our first home. My hand Wants to touch your skin – an igniter, A spark and something that delivers
Its promise of protecting us. I was just A wanderer, lost and unsure of where I was going next, but then you came Wearing your heart on your sleeve. Your willing heart craved wanderlust Too. You are a woman with long hair, A smile that goes with it and a name Beautiful as a dove’s call. The leaves
On the tree become greener as you Approach and meet me down the aisle. There I vow to shield you as you did It countless times, even when I was Undeserving and with the clear blue Sky above our heads I love every smile Along with the tears that already slid Down your soft face. We take a pause
To take it all in, enjoying all the early Mornings and late evenings. We laid Our love at the Earth’s feet. We look as Fall, winter, spring and summer change, But our love that sometimes turns curly Stays the same. Are we what we prayed For? We have love that is raw like topaz People dig for and is a mountain range.