Dear Unsealed,

My name is Chrys Takashige and I am sending my poem for your January writing contest. Thank you for taking the time to consider my entry,

Take care…Chrys

My Ascension

The year to
rise and shine.
“So long” to what was.
“Hello” to what is.
Still thriving.
Thankful to be sustained
by technology and humans
two decades plus.
Time to live more freely.
No cerebral road blocks,
nor abandoning of self.
Marching forward
to where euphoric states await,
in the ocean, on the greens, up on the hills.
Returning to acts of love,
from hermit to butterfly,
out and about it shall be.
The dormant right brain
to be awakened
on paper, with rhythms and cuisine.
Moving and grooving
through each day.
Attaining yin-yang status
on the see-saw of life.
The freedom to choose
what is ideal
for the life deserved.
No more compromising.
Forget wasting energy.
Drop the ungrateful.
Evolve into a light-weight
ready to fly and soar
beyond measure.

……………………………….
Vision reality — Pt.1✨
Dreams VS. Vision 💭
……………………………….
Dreams to me—
are what you see when you’re asleep

Vision, is what you set goals for—
to execute & achieve

I have so many goals in mind
& I believe what the mind can see—
you can bring to life

From Vision to Reality

But There’s just this little catch though

Sometimes it feels like it works
& sometimes—it feels like it don’t

Sometimes you get to keep somethings
Sometimes you won’t

Then there’s times—
you don’t even get to have it

Unless it’s in your dreams
& not reality

I know at times its felt so real
But then it quickly disappeared
Like quick sand slippen thru your hands
On it went—to never ever land

At first it hurts so much
You question everything—including you & your self-worth

Somethings are just not meant—for you though

Sometimes it’s just wrong size—
perhaps wrong address

Or simply just—
wrong timing

Alotta times—
things tend to look all pretty & shiny ✨

So much so—
they can easily become blinding

From afar they’ll bling —
attracting anyone & anything

Just remember—things aren’t always what they seem

Sometimes the ring don’t fit
Or your body don’t accept it

Sometimes I’m allergic
& my body rejects it

But with so many options in this world
Sometimes—
Just Sometimes—
Less is more

But don’t get discouraged—
I just want you to know

Worry bout yourself & your home

Everything else will fall into place for you—along the road

……………………………….
Vision reality — Pt 2. ✨✨
2024 Goals 📝
……………………………….

So when they ask me about my 2024
This is what I wrote

I set some goals
& I could easily tell you now
but my goals aren’t for everyone to know
I would rather show you how

I rather create my master plan—
have a talk upstairs w my old man
Jot them down—
remember how

The struggle is real
but God is Realer

How—plans are a guide
But usually never—fully set in stone

Sometimes you’ll go straight ahead—
sometimes you detour

Stay on your toes—
& ready for redirection

Cause the time will come—
when plans ain’t steady

Sometimes they go south
Sometimes they’ll go North

But don’t you worry—just hold tight
& don’t let go

Keep in mind—
there is more than one way—you can go

Just hand him the wheel—let him steer
& put your blinders on—
so you can see clear

Listen up & listen close
Be careful with all that—outside noise

Sometimes his voice can be real quite
So I do my best—to quite my surroundings

Cause—
How I’m suppose to hear him talking—
while listening to—“Yo Gotti”

God be tryna reach out to me—
after me asking him to guide me

But then—
I go straight into hiding

Hiding behind memes & streams—
that contradict what he believes

Catch what I’m saying?

I’m sorry Lord—I’m trying

I know you know best—
where I am—where I’m headed
& what needs—be left—behind me

Like that one time—
I had that vision of a business
But it didn’t make it

Named it—Vision Reality
I was so hopeful & determined

I held on to the idea—for some time
Tryna not—let go of it

I paid a lot of money out of pocket
Until I couldn’t pay—no more of it

Spent months & months—working on it
Alot of frustrating late nights—
that felt like wasted time

But no time is ever wasted—
if you chose to learn—from all the unexpected lessons

I know more now—then I did back then
& perhaps that—one failed attempt
will help me—perfect the next
……………………………….
Vision reality — Pt 3. ✨✨✨
Love Note Back To You 💙
……………………………….

So when I think about 2024
& my goals I have set forth—
I write them down & plan ahead
Always keeping in mind—Remembering

I’m never fully in charge—
I’ve never been

I always wanna be in control
& I know it’s time—I learn to let go

Let go—of my so called “Master Plans”
Lay them down into—the Real Masters Hands

Let him help me quite all the noise
Take my lil social media breaks—as needed
so I can fully hear his voice

Focus on my own goals & life—
not just sit back-chillin—
watching y’all live yours

Live my life for me
Remembering—

Not everything in life—
needs to be shared
Not everyone—
needs to know everything

W so many distractions—
It can be easy to be sucked into the madness
To forget—our own goals & visions

So I take breaks—when I start to feel low or stagnant
& I revisit

Revisit my goals & pray on em’
Cause soon as I get comfortable—
i’m uncomfortable again
knowin I should—be working on the next one

So I ask him to help me—shut the world out again
& all it’s nonsense
To give me back my tunnel vision
& let me get a lil glimpse of him

To not let this world stain my lenses
cause I hate to become blind
& a prisoner of my own mind
& rob myself—of my own blessings

But when everything around me’s—
fake news
When everything is wrong—
that I once thought to be true

All this & more—can really weigh on me
& I can’t lie—it can really get depressing

So I ask my God—
for some love notes—here & there
To let me get a glimpse of heaven—
util I myself—can finally get there

So for 2024—
there’s so much—that I plan to do

Most of all—I just want to become—
less of me & more of you

I really love to brag about your love for us
Cause I wish the world knew—it’s true

But vise versa—I could never brag about MY love for you

I know I fail you—every day
Real quick tho—I just wanna say

Thank you—Lord
For your provision & my daily bread

For the day you told me

Just hold on—you won’t regret it
Trust me—I got it

Cause even though it sometimes hurts—
I’ll take it

15 yrs later—You were right
I don’t regret it

2024—is yours Lord
Show me—just what you can do

I think I’m ready now
I wanna see you move

Let’s go—Let’s get it

God,
This is My Love Note back to you

💙🙏🏽

I don’t have resolutions and despite popular belief
I really don’t know what I’m doing
(especially going into this next year.)
Instead, I know more about who I am not
& I know what I will not do.

I will not wait.
for anyone or anything to like me
I have no desire to be likable to the people who see as debatable
I want to be loved fully and completely
I want to know that I am worth the fight
worth the discomfort
And worth the effort to try to get it right this time.

I will not linger.
on the pain or ambiguity.
part of the awakening / is the awareness /
that everything works out as it should.
there’s nothing I can do
there’s nothing you can do
there’s nothing anyone can do
to keep me from what’s mine and
anything ‘lost’ in the middle is merely practice
to lay my own impatience to rest.
“as I think, so I shall be.”
so I let go, consciously
knowing that I will be okay with the energy of the cosmos leading the way.

I will not be afraid.
I used to believe that fear was a super power capable enough of making me
smarter, sharper, faster,
but I clung to that too much
holding onto that belief until fear crippled me.
// I’m not doing that anymore //
living with fear at the forefront
has made me lose more than its ever made me gain.

last night, I drove to pahrump
alone at midnight.
it was pitch black out
nothing but mountains for miles and a thousands threats of danger lined both sides of the roadway.
But I kept driving
I kept going
and I prevailed by repeating that “I am not afraid”
// A new mantra when I start to lose my way. //

I will not doubt myself.
my sacral authority has been strengthened by
18,976 minutes of meditations.
my intuition is more than capable
of interpreting the signs
the numbers
and the meaning
of everything around me.
This is the power of woman
and all I need to do is listen.

I will not define myself by insanity.
I will not repeat the same patterns
and the same behaviors in hopes
of different outcomes.
there is an ebb and flow to everything / the yin and the yang /
perfect pairs that present truths
that I keep persuading myself as wrong.

“Maybe if I try harder, this time it’ll be different”.
“Maybe this time, they do just need space”
Maybe this. Maybe that.
But maybe not.

These are not chances that I am willing to take as I gamble my life away.

I will not stay silent.
I will not say yes when I mean no
I will not sit by and watch atrocities unfold
when I have a voice.
My boundaries
My emotions
My thoughts
My peace
are all inherently valid and will not be ignored.

This year
I don’t have resolutions
and I have no clue what I’m doing
but instead I have this simple equation
where I subtracting the distractions
add in new wisdom
multiply the joy
and diving the things I love
to find the real value.
to find the real me
the who already has everything
she needs because she understands her power
and know it lives inside her.

and I hope you can connect to that, too.

happy new year.

Dear Unsealers,

It’s the halfway point of January. Though I’ve been taking it a bit slow, I still have plans that I want to achieve in 2024.

I’ll tell you what they are…in verse

As 2024 rolls on
Here’s what I know…

I hope to expand on my writing gains
With the fourth attempt to bring the next chapter of the Poetic Journey to life
To complete the Tupelo Press 30/30 challenge
Go the distance through NaPoWriMo once again
And possibly, write my next chapter

To make it past my probationary period in February
Seeing in my first anniversary at work full-time come October

Come the fall, my next destination beckons
As I trade the Aegean for the Adriatic
With visions of being by the sea in Dubrovnik

This is just a taste of the plans in store
Knowing that the rest of this year is open for so much more

The troublesome foe—
everything you can become.
The future is anticipated,
but it has yet begun
the past is important
learn from it and grow
focus on yourself
and everything will follow
opportunity will arrive
when you least expect it
Pick up where you left off
Even when you forfeit
It can’t be expedited—
it’s written in the cards.
All you have to do,
is be who you truly are.

This time
I am
Clawing my way
Out of
The grave
I laid in
The grave
I prayed in
Waiting
For a change
An extracating hand
With a shovel
To come
And dig
Looking for me
Somehow
Knowing I was
In there
The dirt
Never lifted
No matter
How many
Times
I shifted
I would scream
Sometimes
I would even
Sing
Nobody came
I decided
I would
Die in
Darkness
Blind to the power
I could harness
Then I realized
I was awake
Nowhere near
Death
I may have
Felt defeated
But I still
Had some
Strength left
My hands began
To move freely
My legs too
I was never
Stuck
I just accepted
Too many lies
As my truth
Leaving me
Confused
The years
Before
Were heavy
Filled with turmoil
This year is
Brand new
I am no
Longer
Beneath the soil

Dear me,
Yes you,
You are a capable woman. Strong, intelligent, and resilient is your name. You put fires out that are aimlessly burning, and in the same breath have the ability to ignite the most powerful flames.
You are a capable woman. A dog mom, a cheerful wife, and a spiritual pillar to many. You work hard in everything you do even when it’s not ideal.
You are a capable woman. Allow yourself the time you need – to heal, to laugh, to cry, and to sigh. Life will always be busy, but you deserve some rest. Remember, you are capable but you are also human.

Oh, capable woman. Please dive into yourself. Make your 30s your best. Let go of the void and shake off the excess stress. Who are we mentally, physically, emotionally & spiritually? Let’s find that out. Can we buy out the time to do what we love? Can we live by our rules?

My dear capable woman. This time is yours to spend. Follow your heart and find peace within. Build up yourself the way you desire to be. I believe you can do it. I believe in me.

Love always,

An aspiring capable woman

It took your body
Twelve years to climb
Four feet and eleven inches.
Although you have plateaued in figure,
I hope your soul can continue to grow.
I hope your heart expands;
I hope your spirit strengthens;
I hope you can fortify your mind
And feed your passions
A balanced diet.
This is the year
You search beyond:
Beyond yourself,
Beyond the limits you’ve come to know,
Beyond the 4 ft 11 in at
The top of your head.
I hope you pray deeper;
I hope you love longer;
I hope you work harder;
I hope you play better;
I hope you learn so much
Life starts learning from you.
And while that one
May be just out of reach,
Hopefully,
In 352 days
You’ll be used to
Reaching for things
People say are untouchable.

Last year, going into the year of 2023, like everyone did when it was trendy, I made a vision board. On that vision board, I said I wanted to make it pink and aesthetically pleasing! With pink being my favorite color and the trendy “aesthetic look” social media is going for nowadays, it was obvious I had to go this route for the look of my board! I continued to search on Pinterest for things I wish to have moving forward in 2023 and made sure to end the search with the phrase “pink aesthetic.”
So I pasted my pink aesthetically pleasing Tesla picture to my vision board, my pink aesthetically pleasing image of business packages, and can’t forget those pink aesthetically pleasing quotes that I needed on the board or it wouldn’t have looked right. The focus of my vision board was centered around looks. It was more important to me how pretty and appealing to the eye I can get it. It did not obtain any depth and there was no vision in the vision. Needless to say, I did not get anything done on that board.
Last year working on my vision board I really was going about it in, not only a general sense, but also very surface level, very superficial. I’m certain this is the reason I didn’t achieve anything on that board. This year, I’m going about it in a different way, more of a logical approach. I have a clear vision and that vision is to be realistic, that vision is to go deeper and strive to achieve to be that ideal version of myself, not to have the prettiest looking project filled with other people’s goals and aspirations that I see on Pinterest. I looked at goals in the sense of what I can reach RIGHT NOW, instead of a step by step journey of achievements, opening up new chapters to start and focus on continuously. No more aesthetics, this one is personal!
The way my story was written, my starting point in life didn’t give me much leverage. So at times it may seem like all odds are against me, it may seem like what I am reaching for is unrealistic and quite impossible. I read somewhere that, “Holding limiting beliefs become self fulfilling prophecies.” Meaning, if I tell myself a dream is too big for me to achieve and I can’t do it, then guess what? I won’t be able to do it because I made that decision for my life already before I can even start. My starter line does not affect where I will finish, so I believe any dream I dream to be obtainable. Goals should be realistic not limited. I do not limit my goals because I find it to be unrealistic. It’s actually quite the opposite. I come up with limitless goals and seek realistic ways to go about them.
The vision for my vision board, or in other words, my goals for the 2024 new year is quite simple. I will attract wealth abundantly from multiple different streams of income. I will pass any upcoming tests with a perfect score of 100! This year I am going to start to build credit so that by the end of the year I have a credit score of 750 or higher. That new apartment I’ve been eyeing? I now reside there, and I get to and from my place of residence with my new car. By the end of 2024, the new skill(s) I’ve been working on, I am now very knowledgeable about and I work on my projects efficiently. I will seek a better relationship with God because without Him, hard work and determination, and a little bit of manifestation, I will not obtain that ideal version of myself that I know I am capable of being. In 2024 I will be motivated to complete every goal I have for myself and more. I will achieve every goal I set forth with intention.

Broken Up Sunlight

In the era of my second decade,
Entering my most confusing time yet.
Who to be, where to go,
What to do,
Who knows?
I slithered around in fear
Most of 2023.
I crave new skin, I crave brighter days.
I long to give my thoughts action
Instead of letting them
Prance around, dressed in “what ifs”.
Chills strike my body at the thought
Of my life being my own.
My palate has become stale
From being stagnant,
Yet I’m afraid of the sours of change.
My feet don’t know what direction
To step in but
It’s become exhausting
Stepping in fear.
I want this letter, this poem,
To be my step forward.
Still a step in fear
But a step forward.
Refreshed, I am in my era of exposure.
I am in my era of doing.
No longer sitting and wallowing
in anxiety,
Standing up when I feel disrespected.
There is so much more to see, to experience,
to do, to be.
I’ve grown tired of being the reason
of my own downfall.
Tired of shading
my vision and tainting
My talents,
In fear.
I crave confidence,
I crave a self I’ve never known.
I crave new skin, I crave brighter days.