<div>Two years have passed since the initial fundraiser for my first self-published book, <em>Songs to Myself.</em>
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<div><a href="https://www.blurb.com/b/12219184-songs-to-myself" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><a href="https://www.blurb.com/b/12219184-songs-to-myself" target="_blank" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://www.blurb.com/b/12219184-songs-to-myself</a></a>
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<div>I look back and see it as a pivotal moment of stepping in the direction of my artistic life, uncompromised.
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<div>I'm happy to share that I have finished the first draft of <em>Still Blooming</em>, my second book, as well - it's in its final editing stages now! I am hoping to submit it to a number of poetry competitions and have started submitting individual poems to journals/periodicals as well.
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<div><em>STILL BLOOMING</em>
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<div><em>Today,</em>
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<div><em>Walking through the sprouting spring forest,</em>
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<div><em>A tree </em>
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<div><em>Bars entry to the path before me.</em>
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<div><em>(The final blizzard </em>
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<div><em>of the grasping winter</em>
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<div><em>must have blown it over).</em>
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<div><em>Now,</em>
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<div><em>Half-rooted,</em>
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<div><em>It lies</em>
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<div><em>Strewn across the earth:</em>
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<div><em>Horizontal, and broken, and dying.</em>
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<div><em>Walking by,</em>
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<div><em>I see the buds on its branches</em>
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<div><em>Still blooming.</em>
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<div>Of the well over a thousand poems I wrote between 2020-2024, I can say that around 80% of them fall into the poetic voices of Songs to Myself (spiritual aspirations/insights) and Still Blooming (nature hymns/pilgrimage poetry).
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<div>However, there are two areas I haven't shared much about. Perhaps because they are the most vulnerable of my works and contain the most revealing pieces from my life. The first area is love, and the second is poetry itself.
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<div>They are challenging to speak to because they hold so much pain; while each collection is only about me, they explore the emotions of self-and-other (love) and self-and-society (poetic identity). I thought I may never share those aspects of myself, but I'm finding it essential to the human experience (even Jesus wept).
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<div>Perhaps sharing my healing journey can help alleviate it for others, and I hope these works, while tender, will speak to <strong>the power of love, compassion, forgiveness, resilience, and healing.</strong>
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<div>I have two chapbooks (shorter, thematically focused books) that I'm planning:
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<div>The first is <em>Haiku and Heartbreak</em>
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<div>The second is <em>Caged by the Muses</em>
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<div>If you are able, please consider a contribution towards their creation and sharing this with others. I hope to have the first draft of both books finished by the end of November.
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<div>Your support means a lot to me, and helps with a feeling of community and abundance while I move forward with the editing process. If these words resonate, please help bring these books to life through a donation that matches your capacity.
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<div>Ending With Two Short Poems (one from each collection):
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<div>1.
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<div>Haiku and Heartbreak:
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<div>Kissing pain heals suffering -
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<div>My ink is my tears
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<div>2.
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<div>I needed to write poetry,
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<div>Not just for the poems
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<div>But for who I became as I wrote them.
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<div><strong>No raffles, sweepstakes, giveaways, or returns on investment are offered in exchange for any donations made to this GoFundMe.</strong>
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michelle helsing

Nicho Peterson

Anonymous

Lewis Dees

Michael Monsor

Kali Higgins

Igor Dukic

Deborah Clemmensen

Daniel Winker

Alanna Morris

Drew Dietle

Stefan Howard

Tomas Flores

Hanna Esparza

frank florin

Haiku and Heartbreak; Caged by the Muses - Poetry Fundraiser

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