WRITTEN POETRY

Writing poetry has been my ride or die companion through life’s ups and downs, inside-outs, and twist and turns.

If I was feeling lost. I would write. If I was feeling alone, I would write. If I was feeling love sick or heart broken, I would write. If I was inspired, I’d write. If I was hurt, scared, confused, elated, in awe, ah-ha-ed…yep, you guessed it, I’d write poetry.

Writing poetry as tool for healing, self discovery, and self care:

Self – soothing technique

Contemplative practice

Self-reflection exercise

Cathartic release process

Log of life experiences

Method of processing emotions

Form of self expression

Entertainment

A form of prayer

A way of accessing higher consciousness and wisdom

A way to lessen depression: to suppress is to depress

SPOKEN WORD

Then I was introduced to SPOKEN WORD. I was an unsuspecting 20 year old, doing what I did at the time, riding on the coattails of my much cooler friends. They had brought me to an abandoned fire station. A small group of up-and-coming artists had taken ownership of the relic and were converting into a soon-to-be discovered venue. They were hosting a handful of in-the-making musicians from Detroit.

When I heard Versiz, poetry went from being a 2D experience to a 3D experience. If writen poetry is like jumping rope, spoken word is like double dutch.

His words alone created an entire experience. He didn’t have a band. He didn’t have back up singers. He didn’t have an musical instruments. He just used his voice. This is the real power of spoken word.

Versiz…

He literally changed my life – I knew from that moment on, I wanted to do “THAT”!

After he was done, I couldn’t necessarily remember what his exact words were. And poetry is so personal that I don’t claim to know what he exactly meant. However, I never forgot how he made me feel. Something was communicated that bypassed my logic. I was moved without permission. I was impacted like it or not, if I agreed or not. I did not have to understand him to hear him. He delivered something to me, a message encoded in emotion and transcribed by my heart. This is the real power of spoken word.

Artists who make it look this easy have put in the work. Looks like if I want to do “THAT” then better get good at being bad first. What is in my head is NOTHING like how it sounds. 😅🙃