What Inspires Me: Alone by Poe

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Shared the following poem by Poe with a fellow creative and it touched her so much it brought tears to her eyes.

I wanted to share with her how succinctly Poe described feeling detached and separate from the world.

Its always been a favorite of mine as Poe was my first literary love and the first writer I became obsessed with.  He wooed me with his words of  romantic melancholy and showed me that the written word could evoke multitudes of emotions.

“Alone”

From childhood’s hour I have not been
As others were—I have not seen
As others saw—I could not bring
My passions from a common spring—
From the same source I have not taken
My sorrow—I could not awaken
My heart to joy at the same tone—
And all I lov’d—I lov’d alone—
Then—in my childhood—in the dawn
Of a most stormy life—was drawn
From ev’ry depth of good and ill
The mystery which binds me still—
From the torrent, or the fountain—
From the red cliff of the mountain—
From the sun that ’round me roll’d
In its autumn tint of gold—
From the lightning in the sky
As it pass’d me flying by—
From the thunder, and the storm—
And the cloud that took the form
(When the rest of Heaven was blue)
Of a demon in my view—
By Edgar Allan Poe

Inspiration: Ancient Egyptian Love Poem

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What Inspires Me: Poem by Maya Angelou

One of the first female poets I came across as a teen whom I connected with deeply was Maya Angelou.  Her words spoke to me then and they speak to me now….

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Still I Rise 

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may tread me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I’ll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don’t you take it awful hard
‘Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I’ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

by Maya Angelou

Birds of a Feather

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Was chatting to a friend about poetry and novels and our love for them recently.  During our conversation, she gave me one of the best compliments I have received in a long while….

“When I talk with you about writing or read your posts about writing, you remind me of Jo March from Little Women – Genius Burns. Strong fierce beyond talented and stubborn – but always a lady.”

Thanks Apryl…you have no idea how much these words mean to me 😀

Artists with a big black dog for a pet

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Was discussing poetry and other forms of artistic expression with one of my younger friends who “gets it” and during this to and fro, introduced her to one of my favorites which she’d never heard of before and I shared why I loved her and what called to me.  During the conversation I brought up how she took her own life like a few of my other favorite writers and realized most of my favorite artists have suffered from the big black dog.

For those of  you who are artists of any kind – take hope there is more of us than you realize and even though you feel alone, you’re not.  Dont give up!  Using art to express what you are going through is beneficial not for your own sanity but for those who drink from the water-bowl of the big black dog.

I came across this list on famous artists who struggled with the black dog’s barking and its a pretty good one. I do however feel they should of included some of my other favorites like Dylan Thomas, Anne Sexton, Tennessee Williams, Virginia Woolf and Emily Dickinson.

http://www.nursingschools.net/blog/2010/10/50-famous-artists-thinkers-who-have-struggled-with-depression/

What Inspires Me: Dali

This surrealist’s art has always made me wonder at the “characters” within his art.  They speak to me of places I’m too wary to travel to, whilst giving me insight into the complex nature of his perception of life.

This is my favourite Dali piece which is titled “Woman Aflame” .

It helps me momentary escape and explore infinite possibilities as a woman as I compartmentalize my responsibilities and dreams…I might be held up to society’s standards but that is just a crutch which I use to propel myself  forward.

 

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What Inspires Me: Travelling

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I’ve been away for a long vacation which I haven’t had in years.  I travelled to some beautiful places filled with nature which always inspires me.

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I wrote everyday and continue to do so, focusing on my fiction as well as non fiction.

Its triggered a new story in me which is a completely different genre and so I look forward to seeing it bloom.