It’s been a while. I feel like I begin all of my posts with that lately. Sometimes I feel like I’m slacking on my dream. But if I really was giving up I wouldn’t still be posting and still putting in the effort to write. For those of you that don’t know, I got into writing poetry through my therapist. She encouraged me to write my feelings down. One of the other things we discussed once was labels. Labels aren’t all encompassing. You don’t ever have to entirely fit in a label. Your individuality and lack of conformity to one title in life is what makes you who you are. So in honor of that, because sometimes we need reminded, the following poems have no common theme except that I like them.

In the creation of life our lips graze those of death 
Something so essential could lead to our demise
It’s with sheer stubbornness that we prevail
To keep ourselves and progeny on the living side of the veil
-childbirth

You know that moment when it’s not light but it’s not quite night?
You can see the glow of a streetlight
And the birds in flight
It might be one of my favorite moments
One stuck in between times
-dusk

Right? Wrong? Neutral?
Which one is it?
Or am I just too guarded 
Won’t let you in?
I want to
I want to get tangled in your limbs
And let your neurons intertwine with mine
Then our lives would mesh too
No longer separate 
‘Cause one plus one equals two
Would we be a force of nature ?
Or another mess in disguise?
Something neither one of us can recognize
I know we will stumble
All relationships do
But what keeps them together?
What is the glue?
Do we really need it?
Or are we magnetic?
In tune?

Dangling a carrot
Anger, hurt, broken hope
Time wasted

A dream already crushed 
Time already mucked
Grip me with a new hope
I hold tight to that rope

But the rope is a snake
Just another fake
Use what I have learned

From this dream I refuse to wake
I must let go ‘fore it’s too late 
-tease

Poem #1: My closest and oldest friend recently went through her child bearing journey. Pregnancy is a crazy wild ride for anyone but for her it’s as if the rollercoaster gods wanted to put her in their hall of fame. I don’t know if I could’ve been as brave or as strong as she had through it all. And that’s the thing, there are a million trials and tribulations through pregnancy and then the icing on the cake is childbirth. As women and mothers we all have some sort of story about the insane things that happened to our minds and bodies during this time. When writing this poem the irony really hit me: that there is or almost is death with every creation of life.

Poem #2: I wrote this poem on a summer evening while sitting outside drinking wine. The temperature and breezes were just right. It was a truly sublime moment. I wanted to capture it’s essence and how I feel after the crazy heat of summer days and the temp finally drops. Bliss.

Poem #3: Ah dating. This poem I wrote when I had feelings for someone I was dating but there seemed to be a roadblock. So I began questioning myself and my mental health and theirs.

Poem #4: This one I wrote after liking a lot of things about a romantic interest except for one quality (there were more but this one drove me nuts). I felt that he didn’t respect or value my time.

The post Moments of Reflection: Verses on Life, Love, and Transience first appeared on Gabrielle Stetz.

I have mentioned some poets in the past that inspire me. But I think I forgot one. I only forgot them because they are a little unorthodox. So, without further ado, will the real slim shady please stand up?

When I was in high school I became very angry with the world. Right around that same time Eminem’s album “Not Afraid” was released. As I’m sure most of you know, Eminem’s song “Not Afraid” became a huge hit and was on the radio a lot. That introduced me to his music. You would think his older music would’ve found me first. And it did. But it didn’t resonate with my emotions like this song could. So I started listening to that entire album and found a way to cope with my anger. That album was the soundtrack to my senior year. Now I listen to all of his music. And even now, 12 years later, I still find solace in his music when my anger burns.

When I started writing poetry I noticed the lyrics of his songs more and was in awe of them. Eminem’s ability to manipulate the English language fascinated me. I feel that every time I listen to one of his songs I find another punch line in it or notice a new way that the words fit together. Enter inspiration. This one’s for the Eminem fans.

There’s vomit on her sweater already
Moms spaghetti
She’s nervous
But on the surface she looks calm and ready to drop bombs
But
she keeps on forgetting 
“It would be so empty without me”

Her thoughts are sporadic, she acts like an addict
She won't get another chance, life is no Nintendo game

She fears how she feels inside
It may seem a little crazy pretty baby
But I promise mamas gonna be alright 

In the dark it’s time to exercise these demons. These motherfuckers are doing jumping jacks. Now she’s not afraid. Her pen’ll go off when she half cocks it. Then they’re gonna taste her venom

-anger inspiration and admiration 
-the Eminem show 

The post Let Her Roar first appeared on Gabrielle Stetz.

All of my life I’ve been hooked on words. It began with reading. I devoured books. I was the girl that read under her desk at school instead of listening to the teacher. I was the girl that got grounded from reading. I’m drawn to stories in all their forms: movies, tv shows, song lyrics, poems, fiction, etc. Eventually I decided to write my own stories. Unfortunately most of them I have deleted and are lost in the digital abyss. Sometimes I wish I could go back and read them. I’m sure they are absolutely awful, however, it would be nice to travel back in time to that teenage brain. Back then, I set a dream to get published. As an adult, I’ve turned it into a goal. Presently, I struggle with finding the time and energy to write something as lengthy as a novel even though I have two started. In therapy two and a half years ago my therapist suggested I try writing about my feelings to get them out. I have this issue where thoughts and feelings seem to get stuck inside and until I get them out I can’t get out of my head. Sometimes it feels like I’m going crazy. Writing them out worked but they started coming out as poems. For a while, I kept them as a secret tucked in close. I was afraid they weren’t good enough. I mean, in school you’re taught that poems are these lengthy, stiff structured pieces of work. I remember hating poetry in school. I didn’t like how deep you had to look for the meaning. In the last couple years though, a trend in poetry has emerged. It’s more in-your-face, blatant, and bold. That’s more of the style I write in.

To add to the struggles of a writer, there’s the fear of judgement. Everyone grapples with the fear of being judged but for a writer it’s your heart and soul on the page. In so many important relationships in my life I’ve felt disconnected and unsafe. As a result, I’ve swallowed feelings and shrunk myself to please them. There was one day though when I was reading The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah and I came across a line, “I always thought it was what I wanted: to be loved and admired. Now I think perhaps I’d like to be known.” After all, what’s the point of focusing on being liked when it leaves the bitter aftertaste of loneliness? That quote has given me so much strength to be myself. I guess you could call it one of my mantras. Ultimately, it’s one of a few quotes that have encouraged me to be brave and let you read my feelings on a page. My reason for sharing all of this, all of me, with you is in hopes that my words will reach someone somewhere and touch their soul like many others’ words have touched mine. Enjoy.

With words I have the 
Power 
to turn a memory
Sweet
to turn a memory
Sour
-poetry

It feels good to pick up a pen
and write the truth
instead of hiding
behind fiction
-the unleashing

She writes to feel
She reads to forget
-found in words

Sugar on my tongue
Hellfire ink in my pen
-let it burn

The post Introducing Me first appeared on Gabrielle Stetz.