Wow!! TaMara, I am at a loss for words reading this. As I am a suicide survivor myself due to the loss of my father to it I connected to your story even more! I am so grateful that you are still here shining your light through spoken word and wisdom. It is a tough battle for myself daily as I am a full time mother but I am thankful for my son and I rely on God more than ever to get me through this tribulation. Thank you so much for you inspiration TaMara and can’t wait to read more from you!!

Thank you so much for being such a wonderful light and sharing your insight and outlet through grief. I believe it’s so important to find a helpful and healing outlet through the journey of grief. Reading this brought back memories of my father. I also love your imagery in this piece. Thank you so much for sharing.

Thank you for sharing this. Life always presents us with chances and opportunity. But sometimes we have to view the chances of the opportunity, if it brings us great benefit or is it not our calling for that opportunity. Not all opportunities are good for are well being and we just end up taking the chance to take the opportunity because it sounds good at the moment, at least for myself I struggle with this.

I love the metaphor in this piece. The thorns we face come in various forms whether it is the people we deal with on a daily basis, or life tribulations we have to overcome. I am so grateful that you found your voice and are continuing to inspire other powerful women who have not found their voice yet. Keep shining through your spoken word!

Thank you so much for sharing such a heartfelt story. I really enjoyed the imagery in this piece. Reading this made me feel like it was a true story as a person who is transforming into a better version of myself. Thank you for such an inspirational story.

Thank you so much for being so brave and being a light amongst others by sharing your story fearlessly. You are an amazing soul. I love your connection to nature. I feel nature can really teach us a lot through our toughest battle! You are courageous and I adore that. Please continue to express your light. You are seen, you are heard. Thank you so much for being you!!

Wow. I completely resonate with this poem due to me sulking in my own cave for long periods of time. I love the imagery you connect with nature. Mother Nature always gives insight when needed and shows us the light even through or after a detrimental storm. Grief is a difficult journey and I thank you for your inspiration. I find myself comfortable in my dark cave at times when I know there is beauty in life but it’s so much easier sitting in darkness. Thank you for the reminder that there is light at the end of a dark tunnel.
-Cierra

I admire how you start the poem off with how beautiful love is and ending it with a twist of how difficult love can be. I feel people don’t express that side of the story that much and tend to only share the pretty side of love but not the downfalls that it can go through. Not letting these negative narratives discourage you amongst your journey of finding true and unconditional love is essential. Patience is the virtue especially when it comes to finding true love. Thank you for sharing your peace through the wilderness.

Reading this reminded me that we are not alone in fighting battles in life although we feel that way. Using outlets such as this platform inspires readers like myself to keep going no matter how fractured life gets. As long as we can keep fighting we can breakthrough the hardship. Thank you for this reminder Francesca!!

I really connected with this poem because there are times where I just want to pack everything and just run away, or even just run away with nothing on hand. I love the connection with nature at the beginning of this piece. Thank you so much for sharing such a heartfelt and relatable poem!

Wow Joylynn, reading this made my heart feel warm. This was such a heartfelt story to read. Having community help you get through the tough times is such an essential part in life. I am so happy that you had community support in all you were going through. Thank you for sharing your story and giving readers inspiration! You are amazing!

I genuinely enjoy reading your poem! You inspire young women like myself to keep going no matter how tough life gets. Yes life be lifeing but we must pursue our dreams! Especially as women things are not always what they seem. Thank you for you’re encouraging words and shining your light through spoken word.

TaMara, thank you so much for this poem! Reading this gave me inspiration through my grieving journey. As days feel dark I still look up to God who is bigger than all my troubles and struggles. Thank you for this reminder TaMara

Wow, this poem almost brought me to tears. Your words are very heartfelt and gave me insight that I am not alone on this grieving journey. At times, I scream and feel alone. But I am learning that there are other people who understand the grieving process and that it is not easy. Thank you for your kind words and confidence in sharing your grieving process.

-Cierra

I love how you switched the word “heart” around. I never thought or broke this word down as creatively as you presented it in this poem. One can analyze the heart in several ways, whether through different art forms, natural characteristics, the earth’s enormous heart, or how someone speaks to others. This poem was a short, creative way to describe the heart in several fashions; it gave me a lot to think about.

-Cierra

James, thank you so much for your vulnerability to share your battle. Your word is a light amongst others who are still putting up a strong fight themselves. I am so thankful that you are here sharing your truth and not fearing what others may feel or think. Keep shining your light on your truth we need your strong and encouraging words!!

-Cierra

Wow Kristen, this poem is so affectionate with imagery of the ocean.
I love how you speak for the massive body of tremendously influential and destructive water. This makes the reader feel a deep connection with the ocean and gives it many natural characteristics. Thank you so much for sharing your deep connection with nature.

-Cierra

Wow, reading this gave me chills. I love the metaphor of how our scars and tears are the brushstrokes on the canvas of our lives. That is a perfect way of stating that we are all a work of art, and our art does not have to be an ideal storyline. We process our progress through the battles that we grow through. I am so grateful for reading your passage today. It gave me hope, encouragement, and insight that everyone is uniquely different, and that is the best part about seeing the brighter things in life.

-Cierra

” I am more than this silence, more than I knew”
“And I’m finding my voice, calling out true” I admire these lines!!

This whole poem spoke to me as I am battling profound grief myself and have been for a year now. I have hidden and isolated myself, knowing I have my truth to share amongst those who need to be inspired. Thank you so much for being a light unto the world, breaking your silence, and giving listeners and readers what they need. There are so many ways to release grief in many forms of artistic outlets, whether it’s writing, journaling, painting, or many more down the list.

-Cierra

What a delightful and courageous poem! Reading this gave me goosebumps because I believe it is essential for viewers to understand how the police department is tormenting families lives with their unfair justice of being police officers. I wish this piece could be presented everywhere even in police departments so they can understand how unjust they are. I am a firm believer in God and a true believer of the ten commandments. I find it sad how societal does not follow the ten commandments whether its our government or even our police force. I thank you for your vigorous statement! You are heard!

-Cierra