Poetry

Broken Time

June 5, 2020June 3, 2020 kaylaannauthor

HATRED

So ingrained into our society

Our media

Our conversations

The world is ticking

tick

Ticking

Begging for change

Begging for revolution!

Tear Gassed Eyes

Rubber bullet wounds

Broken Windows

Cars aflame

Store Owners blood

Spilling across pavement

Tick

Ticking

So much violence

Hatred,

Closed ears

Shut-off hearts

Tick

Ticking

What would happen if we could open our ears for a moment?

What would it be like if we thought of all life as being precious?

To want to celebrate both African American lives

and the lives of our police officers?

What would it be like to find that middle ground?

What if we could stop the

Tick

Ticki—

©KaylaAnnAuthor2020

© KaylaAnn and KaylaAnnAuthor.wordpress.com, 2020. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to KaylaAnn and KaylaAnnAuthor.wordpress.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Poetry

In Her Dimming Eyes

May 17, 2019May 17, 2019 kaylaannauthor

It’s an ordinary day when

She begins to walk in my direction at the gym

And yet she catches my eye

This older woman with whitening hair

and dimming eyes

She clasps hands with a gentleman,

graying like herself.

What must it be like for her? To be

surrounded by those

younger, fitter, than she; those for whom

exercising is natural

and not yet the hard struggle that it

is for her?

Does she resent our youth, our agility that

so long ago abandoned her?

Does she see herself in the young women around her

and think, “If only they knew?”

Does she wonder where the time has gone or does she

treasure each remembered second?

She’s getting closer now, her eyes catch mine and

I can’t look away.

We share a smile as she passes by and for a moment

I can see it in her eyes

The young woman she used to be who has formed the

woman she is today.

Today’s poem was inspired by a real moment that only consisted of a few seconds at the gym. As I get older, I begin to be more aware of everyone else around me and I feel a grand sense of sonder (or the realization that everyone I see has just as complicated a life as I do with their own hopes, dreams, fears, and desires). When I saw this older woman, I felt instantly connected to her and wondered if she too had gone to the gym some 60 years ago, working out, trying to look her best for her future husband. Did she see older woman and wonder about them the way I wondered about her? I don’t know, but it was such an interesting moment, I had to write about it.

What about you? Do you ever see a stranger on the street and all the sudden realize that they are living their own unique life, they are not just a backdrop, but a real identity with wants and fears?

In other news, I’m heading off to my Bachelorette Weekend tomorrow! I won’t be on WordPress until Monday.

Have a great weekend!

©KaylaAnnAuthor

© KaylaAnn and KaylaAnnAuthor.wordpress.com, 2018. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to KaylaAnn and KaylaAnnAuthor.wordpress.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Poetry

Time

May 13, 2019 kaylaannauthor

In the time that it takes

For your lips to form

A smile

Time has flown

No, time has raced

Past us.

Before we can even

Share a moment in time

Time

Speeds past the moment

Time,

The ever-elusive entity

That we strive to capture in our

Hands as

Hands on the clock

Spin in a dizzying dance

As time

Flies

Right out of our hands.

©KaylaAnnAuthor

Poetry

Time Flies

November 21, 2018November 20, 2018 kaylaannauthor

In the time that it takes

For your lips to form

A smile

Time has flown

No, time has raced

Past us.

Before we can even

Share a moment in time

Time

Speeds past the moment

Time,

The ever-elusive entity

That we strive to capture in our

Hands as

Hands on the clock

Spin in a dizzying dance

As time

Flies

Right out of our hands.

Poetry

The Virtue of Time

October 10, 2018September 11, 2018 kaylaannauthor

What is the passage

Of time

Except for

An opportunity

For Growth?

The Seven Virtues were created to combat each of the Seven Deadly Sins. These Seven Virtues first appeared tied together in an epic poem titled Pschomachia, written by Aurelius Clemens Prudentius, a Christian governor of the 400s AD. To battle Wrath, there is Patience.

Image result for patience art female — EnCarlo Dolci – Alegoria da Paciência , 1677 (portrait of a woman as ‘Patience ‘)ter a caption

Patience is the ability to accept a delay or an upset without responding negatively. Patience, in my opinion, is one of the hardest virtues that requires we see patience as an opportunity for self-growth.

Happy Writing Everyone!

Writing Tips

Overcoming Writer’s Block – “Home/Responsibilities” (5)

June 28, 2018June 12, 2018 kaylaannauthor

As noted in the introductory blog “5 Reasons Behind Writer’s Block,” there are several reasons why writers are often prevented from writing. The six primary reasons include:

Lack of Time to Write
Sickness
Work
Lack of Creativity
Home Responsibilities
***Fear***

The first step to overcoming Writer’s Block comes from the need to discover why the writer is blocked in the first place. Once you have establish the why you can work on how to move forward.

Home Responsibilities = Setting Priorities

Are you a parent? Trying to juggle cleaning, cooking, taking care of the kids, working, and writing? Are you a college student? Trying to do homework, feed yourself, find a job, tidy up that dorm room (once a semester)? Whoever you are, it is probable that you have more than just one responsibility. The average human does not only work a job, but they maintain some sort of living area (whether that is a dorm, an apartment, or a house.) Many people have children, or siblings, or dorm mates that expect certain things like food and cleanliness. Whatever the reason, there will always be different home responsibilities pulling on your time and reducing your ability to write.

Time to make some priorities:

Now, if you are a parent, your children will always come first (and in my opinion, there is nothing wrong with that). However, even as a parent, you still have some room to prioritize.
Make a list of all the things you need done in that week (or even over the course of three days). This list will usually include: cooking, surface cleaning, laundry, work, dishes, showers or bath time, etc.
Schedule out these priorities and while you’re at it, add in writing. For example, you could schedule a weekend like this:
- Friday – Focus on the Family Night with Dinner, Dishes, and Games
- Saturday – Wake up Early before kids to Write, do laundry throughout the day, put in a load of laundry, be with the kids
- Sunday – Wake up before kids to write, Church, set aside time to shower and bathe the kids, finish hanging laundry, prep for Monday’s lunches

Overall, the best way to work around multiple responsibilities is to intentionally prioritize and schedule what it is you want done and when you want it accomplished.

Happy Writing Everyone!

There you have it, the top 5 reasons why we suffer from “Writer’s Block” and ways to combat it! I hope you found this series both beneficial and entertaining!

What type of series would you like me to do next?

Writing Tips

Writing Tip: Manage Your Time Wisely

January 30, 2018March 24, 2018 kaylaannauthor

As I’m working on my book The Agency Games, (with deadlines approaching quickly) I find that managing my time wisely is a necessity if I want to finish on time.

For those of you who write, maybe you have deadlines set by a publishing house, maybe you have deadlines set by yourself (either way, you NEED deadlines – see deadline tip for why). Now comes the harder part, succeeding in those deadlines.

I get it, life is busy! So dang busy and it often feels like its impossible to write. I cannot tell you how many comments on facebook groups that I’ve seen where people say their hardest writing struggle is simply finding the time to write at all.

And on some days, I’ll be honest, those people are right. There is just No. dang. time.

However, that is SOME DAYS. Not every day. Some days it will be impossible, MOST DAYS it will just be hard. We are writers – we should be used to hard, but not impossible goals!

One way that we can manage our time wisely is to plan our writing time. You can either do this at a specific time each day or on specific days of the week. Hear me out, we plan and set aside time for getting together with friends, going to our kids sport games, going out to dinner, watching TV at home. Writing is just another activity (an important one) that needs its own time slot.

So schedule some time that is only meant to be used for writing (not laundry, or homework, or anything else). Once you are in this writing time, optimize your time by reducing distractions. That means, if you are a parent, your writing time should probably be before the kids wake up or after they are asleep. If your a college student, you should probably do it first thing in the morning before classes, that way you can do your homework after the classes. Also, set aside your phone (see tip on distractions) and give yourself this time to devote to writing.