Be Kind by Nada Adel Sobhi - Poem

Be kind to yourself

For you are all you have

 

Don't blame

The girl in the mirror

She's human

Entitled to making mistakes

 

Don't yell at her

Or make her cry

Don't call her names

Or shut her out

 

She wants to learn,

Wants to love

 

But treating her

– or mistreating her –

Will only push her away,

Drive her into the darkness,

Where she'll forever be

A shadow,

Fragile,

Broken,

Tainted,

Abused,

Scared,

Alone.

 

Look in the mirror

Look at her

All she needs is a friend

Not another scrutinizer,

Not another bully,

Not another enemy

 

She wants to live

And love

Just like you.

 

She is You.

 

Instead,

You want to break her

 

The result:

A broken soul

A broken mirror

A broken woman

A broken human.

 

Look into the mirror

And be kind

To the person staring back at you.

 

I don't know what this image is called but I'm 
told it's by an artist called Mihail Korubin.

x

Written Tuesday, 10 November 2020 at 01:12 am

 

The Day My Kisses Tasted Like Discord by Emmanuella Hristova – Book Review

Book: The Day My Kisses Tasted Like Discord

Author: Emmanuella Hristova

No. of pages: 50

Publication date: April 2018

Synopsis:

The Day My Kisses Tasted Like Disorder is a short collection of poems that explores a tumultuous year of love, heartbreak and unimaginable loss. It documents the birth and death of a relationship, and the death of my sister. Each poem is an emotional time-stamp that plunges the reader into the depths of my feelings as they burgeon and wane. The book reads like a diary and chronicles the boundaries of the things that we all feel: passion, heartache, and pain that gives way to hope. 

Book Review by Nadaness In Motion

The Day My Kisses Tasted Like Discord is a raw and emotional poetry collection by Emmanuella Hristova.

At first I was at a loss with the arrangement and titling of the poems. But I realized that they're done in a historic kind of arrangement with some days having more than one poem written. Many pieces don't have titles just dates.

A note to remind oneself when reading poetry collections, especially those in free verse, not everyone breaks lines the same way. I disliked many of the line breaks in The Day My Kisses Tasted Like Discord but that could just be me and others might prefer them that way.

The poem titled "September 29th" is one of the beautiful ones I enjoyed in the first half, though I disliked the repetition of 'and' and some of the line breaks.

"Upon Success" is a short piece that every person everywhere in the world can relate to. It's short and I'll quote it; I didn't like the line-breaks here either.

"America is a weird place where/we leave the/people we love to/pursue little green pieces of/paper and ink to/fill empty slots on/our resumes."

I felt that the piece titled "October 5th" was more prose than poetry but I loved the imagery.  "October 9th" is brimming with stunning imagery, dark, and just wow!

"I hesitate when you kiss me because I/ am afraid you will taste the disaster/brewing underneath my skin. Or maybe/my kisses taste hot, like a dangerous/sun storm raging on the broiling/surface of our most familiar star."  - that's just a sample of "October 9th" which is a long and gorgeous poem.

Another important note about The Day My Kisses Tasted Like Discord is that there are many pieces handling sexual and physical abuse. The poems are powerful. Like these lines from "October 17th":

"Letting my lips touch yours/was a contract I signed/without reading the fine print: participant subject to hasty sexual advances/ without warning."

I couldn't get the poem "November 14th," it was odd with a dry tone and felt more like a series of commandments. "November 16th" reads like a broken down prose piece but is full of strong imagery.

Other 5-star pieces in Hristova's The Day My Kisses Tasted Like Discord include: "October 18th," "October 19th," "Upon Saying Thank You," "Upon Inspiration," "November 17th," "December 15th," and "Upon Celebrating International Women's Day."

"You came, conquered,/stole my heart and/left me with a Moleskin full of/pensive poems documenting unrequited love/exposed on cream, lined pages." - "Upon Inspiration"

I must admit that the second half of the book was much better than the first half. The poems were longer and deeper after the 50% mark. That said, "Upon Diluting Myself" and "Upon Being a Woman" are the most powerful pieces in the entire collection. 10 stars each of these.

"Upon Diluting Myself" is long but super powerful. It's also explicit, painful, eye-opening, and emancipating, all at the same time. Similarly, "Upon Being a Woman" is the most painful piece in The Day My Kisses Tasted Like Discord. It does have a lot of Spanish words, which I couldn't understand. The poem is probably the longest in the collection but speaks for a lot of women suffering from sexual abuse.

"Upon inheritance" is a sad and painful piece that nearly made me cry.

Last but certainly not least, The Day My Kisses Tasted Like Discord ends with "Here's to the Woman," Hristova's perfect conclusion to her emotionally raw poetry collection that I believe is dedicated to all women out there.

This collection was hard for me to judge, but my overall rating is: 4 stars.

Note: I received a free copy of The Day My Kisses Tasted Like Discord from its author Emmanuella Hristova in exchange for an honest review.

About the Author:

Emmanuella Hristova was born in Oakland, California and grew up in the Bay Area. She is the third daughter to Bulgarian parents who immigrated to California shortly before she was born. She began drawing at the ripe age of four, and studied the fine arts for five years in high school. In 2015, she received her Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics from the University of California, Berkeley.

She began writing poetry at age twenty-four when she was in graduate school. She earned her Master's in Education from the same alma mater in 2017. Emmanuella spent two years as an English teacher in Richmond, California. During that time, she self-published her first poetry collection: The Day My Kisses Tasted Like Disorder. Currently, she is writing her first novel.

Connect with indie author Emmanuella Hristova via her website, Amazon, Goodreads, and Instagram

Exclusive Interview with Author-Poet Sophie Schiller

Today I'm featuring an author and poet whose poems just spoke to me. Meet Sophia Schiller, whose poetry collection On a Moonlit Night in the Antilles I read and reviewed recently and gave a 5-star review.

The interview and review were originally planned to published in April 2019 for National Poetry Month, but due to some setbacks from my end, both were delayed.

About Sophie Schiller

Sophie Schiller was born in Paterson, NJ and grew up in the West Indies. She is a novelist and a poet. Kirkus Reviews has called her "an accomplished thriller and historical adventure writer." Publishers Weekly called her Island on Fire, “a memorable romantic thriller,” her Race to Tibet, "A thrilling yarn," and her Transfer Day, “a page-turner with emotional resonance."

On a Moonlit Night in the Antilles is her first collection of poetry. She graduated from American University, Washington, DC and lives in Brooklyn, NY. She is presently working on a novel about a Founding Father. 

Connect with Sophie Schiller via Facebook, Twitter, and her blog.

On to Nadaness In Motion's exclusive interview with Sophie Schiller!

Q: Did you do anything special for National Poetry Month?

Sophie Schiller: I conducted a giveaway on my Facebook page for 5 free copies of my poetry book. I’ve been posting my poems online to get people to take a few minutes of their day to look at the world a little differently, through the lens of poetic verse. Almost any topic can become more salient through the use of poetry. Poetry allows us to discover more about ourselves.

Q: Your poetry collection On a Moonlit Night in the Antilles was inspired by the Caribbean, what other countries have inspired your writing?

Sophie Schiller: No other countries, but other poets have inspired my writing, such as Emily Dickinson, Derek Walcott, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Rudyard Kipling, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and John Keats. Their poetry inspired quite a few poems in my collection, such as “I Found a Danish Skilling” which was inspired by “I had a Guinea Golden” by Emily Dickinson, and “Annaberg” was inspired by “To Helen” by Edgar Allan Poe, and “A Song to Hugo Larsen” was inspired by “Ode to Salvador Dalí” by Federico García Lorca.

Q: Where else do you plan to travel in search of other adventures and inspiration?

Sophie Schiller: I think the West Indies is the place where my soul is most at home, and where my creativity comes alive. I would love to see St. Vincent, Nevis, and St. Lucia, not necessarily in that order.

Read Nadaness In Motion's 5-star book review of On a Moonlit Night in the Antilles by Sophia Schiller.

Q: I noticed that your poetry mostly rhymes, do you have difficulty with rhyme while not making it sound forced? Have you tried writing in free verse?

Sophie Schiller: During the course of my writing I have found that for every problem (in rhyming) there is a solution. If you work on a poem for a long time and it’s not working, in other words, it if sounds too forced, it probably means you have to approach it from a different angle. The solution will come to you eventually. Sometimes you have to put the poem away for a few weeks or a few months and approach it from a fresh perspective. I have never tried writing in free verse. I would have to take a course in it to really understand the technique and the artistic elements of it.

Q: I see you have several books of historical fiction. Are you a history teacher?

Sophie Schiller: No, I discovered late that I love history and stories set in the past, so all my novels are historical. There’s so much to discover!

Q: What are you currently working on? And what books are set to be released in 2019?

Sophie Schiller: Currently I’m working on a novel about Alexander Hamilton’s boyhood in the Caribbean. The novel should be released in 2020. The only book I released in 2019 was my poetry book and it has turned into one of the most fulfilling projects I have ever worked on.

Q: If you could give one piece of advice to aspiring writers, what would it be?

Sophie Schiller: Never give up. Nothing good ever came without some sacrifice.


Check out more exclusive author interviews on the Nadaness In Motion book blog.

The Sea Was a Fair Master by Calvin Demmer – Book Review

Book: The Sea Was a Fair Master
Author: Calvin Demmer
(Short story collection)

Publication Date: 5 June 2018

Publisher: Unnerving

The Sea Was a Fair Master by Calvin Demmer is a collection of 23 short stories spanning realism to paranormal, from sad-and-heartbreaking family and romance to stories that will have you hiding under your bed.

Most of the pieces in the collection have either unexpected endings or unthought of events from start to finish. Demmer will keep you guessing about the motives of the characters till you read the last word and say "WOW" or "Yikes!" or "Wicked!"

“On these dark-blue waves, it is the sea who is judge, jury, and executioner.”

The Sea Was a Fair Master begins with “On the Seventh Day”, a strong and deep opening story with the silent sea as the main theme. It is followed by “Restroom Finds”, a thrilling story. I loved it – even though it was a little gory. Don’t want to give it away but it’s creative and new!

“Underneath” is the third piece in the collection. It’s creepy. Unexpected. Totally five stars!

“Revenge of the Myth” is a 10-star story, which means I was blown away by it.

“Fear the Clowns” had me saying “Yikes!” and “Lol” at the same time. Imagine that.

“West” is an interesting albeit slightly black-comedy kind-of-story. Demmer is lauded for his ability to keep both reader and characters alike on edge until the end.

“They were a little nosy like you officer,” a voice said. “I can’t have people coming and disturbing the dead.”

“Letting the Dead Grow” is another fresh piece of creativity with an unexpected turnout. Five stars to this one.

When I picked up the collection, I planned to keep “The Snakes or the Humans” till the end because of my fear of snakes. But I’m glad I didn’t. A sad tale, the story is a 10-star emotional piece.

Meanwhile, “The Guests” is a very short piece. The ending? You won’t see it coming! Five stars.

Easily finished in a sitting or two, The Sea Was a Fair Master collection is simply un-put-down-able.

“Like a Spanish Guitar” mixes the dreaminess of romance with the paranormal. A 10-star, highly enjoyable story, which I might add is quite terrifying. I could visualise it from start to finish. And I loved it.

Then there is “Hangman”, a horrifying – need I say ‘unexpected’ –story that nearly had me biting my nails. I loved how Demmer took a simple children’s game and turned it into a creepy story. After reading it, I also felt that Demmer should consider writing moving scripts; they’d definitely be innovative compared to what we see often. 10 stars to this one.

“Graves” is a sad, beautiful, and emotional story that nearly brought me to tears. Another 10-star piece.

Last but certainly NOT least is “Sea Ate Nine”, which is gripping from start to finish with lots of puns. A wicked read. Pun intended!

One of the things I liked about The Sea Was a Fair Master was that many of the stories had unexpected endings. Demmer’s word choice, imagery, and overall sentences are well-thought out, easy to read, and he’s done a great job with the pacing of his stories. There isn’t a boring one in the group.

Other recommended reads (five-star stories) in the collection include “Yara”, “Voodoo Child”, “The Sea Was a Fair Master”, “Not Suicide”, “Evolution = Crime”, and “Noisy Neighbours”.

Overall rating for The Sea Was a Fair Master by Calvin Demmer: 5 stars. There were only two stories that didn't appeal to me, but the collection still deserves five stars. It would be unfair on my part to give it anything less.

Note: I received an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) of The Sea Was a Fair Master from its author Calvin Demmer in exchange for an honest review. 

What Is the Most "Demotivational" Quote Ever? (& How Do You Overcome it?)

Sometimes you feel down and Google some motivational quotes to give you a power boost. At other times, you're on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, or any other form of social media and they just pop up.

I do that. Often.

Then there was this one quote, I don't know who said it, that stuck with me. It's a motivational quote. Or at least I thought so.

I had just changed jobs but less than a month in the new one, I felt something was wrong. I was at the beginning of the burnout curve after only one month in my new job. How does that happen?

Anyways, I remembered a quote or part of one I had read that had to do with being able to get up in the morning and pursue whatever it is you want to pursue and googled "motivational quotes" along with a couple of words and found what I was looking for.

It read:

"No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, show up, and never give up."

I did that for several days may be even weeks. It gave me the motivation I was looking for, for just a few of those days.

But as the days passed and I kept "never giving up" and struggling against the challenges of this so-called new job, and what I had hoped would have been a promising one, I realised I was getting demotivated by the minute. I was literally struggling to get out of bed and work from the comfort of my own home.

I realised that what I had thought was "motivation" was actually "bringing me down". It literally stuck me in a rut of my own making.

I was sinking in a black hole. And kept falling further. Deeper.

I was sinking in regret of leaving my old job, feeling weak because the new one, along with the new manager, sucked, and the quote, it added to the wounds that no one could see.

I was suffocating.

I needed out.

And that's exactly what I did.

I quit.

And it was the best decision I had ever made.

Yes, the two-and-a-half months I had put in the new job left some psychological "trauma" for a few months after.

But I had made my decision. And it was the right one.

You know why?

Because there is NOTHING in the world that says you need to put with shit. I understand not many people can quit their jobs or whatever it is that's keeping them from actually "living" in the spur of a moment, but they just have to find out what they need to do.

You don't have to "get up, dress up, show up, and never give up" no matter how you feel. That's weak. That, on the short or long run, will hurt YOU emotionally, psychologically, could even be physically or mentally or all of above.

And no one deserves that.

You deserve to live, love, smile.

I know life is never the picture we envisioned for ourselves but when you're down and you're feeling like you're just dying inside, that's when you know it's time to go: Time to leave these people or that place or even that emotion.

So, no matter how you feel right now, know that you can make things better for yourself. Yes, it might take time, money, sweat. 

If you really want to be happy, you don't have to suffer for it. You don't have to come out with emotional scars that no one will understand.

You can get up, dress up, and show them who YOU are and what you want to do with your life.

Takhayyal writing prompt 67: Queen

Welcome back Ladies and Gentlemen, Artists, Poets, Writers, Authors, Dreamers, Friends and Family; Welcome EVERYONE to Nadaness In Motion's bi-weekly picture-prompt writing challenge Takhayyal.

It's Friday?! *gapes*

Seems I went a little over this week when I thought I had the newest Takhayyal writing prompt scheduled. Oops!

Have no fear!

The newest prompt is one I came across via Pinterest. Magical or realistic? 

What is she doing? Who is she speaking to? 

You decide. Can't wait to read the piece(s) you come up with based on this new image.

Photo credit: Unknown. Image found via Pinterest

Arabic for Imagine, Takhayyal is a challenge for writers of all ages and genres; a place to spark creativity and explore new genres.

Your post can be in English or Arabic, prose, poetry, short story, flash fiction; you name it and write it.

General rules:

·        No nudity, violence, and/or abuse.

·        Leave the link to your post in comments below OR post your piece as REPLY to this post

·        Your piece MUST be inspired in some way or other by the above picture

·        Multiple entries allowed

·        It is not required but it is a nice and encouraging gesture to comment on others' pieces.

·        Feel free to add your Twitter handle (@....) so I can tag you in my tweets!

Let's IMAGINE!

Cleansing the Anger - Poem by Nada Adel Sobhi

No matter how hard I try

Anger resurfaces,

Moving slowly,

Dominating my thoughts,

My dreams, my fantasies,

Putting me on edge,

Slowly gnawing at my mind,

And worse my soul.

Anger at others

I've done my part

And more

Yet it's not enough

It seems nothing

Ever really is enough

But the emotions,

Angry black and red,

Control my mind,

Burying my happiness,

Searing through me like a saw,

Weighing on me like dumbbells,

Pulling me down every time I rise.

I was kind,

But in my kindness

I must have been blind.

Or whosoever I bestowed with my care

Devoured it, wanting more.

Craved it, never satiating,

Never getting their fill.

And I gave

And I gave

And I gave

Till I was out.

Spent.

Empty.

How long till I replenish

What was taken from me?

How long till I rid myself

Of fury and disappointment?

How long?

ANSWER ME!

By: Nada Adel Sobhi