Welcome to another moment together as we reflect,
As we do our internal work.
I thank you for your presence and I thank you for your desire to be here in this moment.
In today's poetry reading,
The title is Stuck.
Now as a trigger warning or a caveat,
I would just like to explain that the themes discussed in today's poetry reading entail abuse.
So if you or someone that you know is a victim of rape or molestation or sexual abuse of any kind,
And you know that that will send you mentally down a dark path,
Then I encourage you to take this moment to press pause.
Because if you are not in the mental space to hear this poetry reading,
Then I respect that.
I respect that.
But I want you to know upfront so that you don't feel ambushed and emotionally hijacked.
So if you choose to continue,
Let us begin.
When they touch me,
I scream and cry.
My mama always said,
Don't let nobody touch my pocketbook.
All 10 of them wanted a peek inside.
In the first man pulled out his secret and stashed it inside,
Filled my pocketbook till it was too full.
He took his white chalk and drew on the inside.
My pocketbook overflowed with blood and white chalk.
After 10 pieces of chalk drew all over my pocketbook,
It never could close the same again.
The brittle chalk eroded pieces of me that cannot be replaced.
The buckle don't snap like it used to.
It got used too much,
No longer brand new.
The white chalk in my innocence birthed a tiny version of me at 15 with a baby.
I know what you think of me,
But it don't really matter because all I can say is when they touch me,
I scream and cry every day on replay.
If you are still here at the end of this poetry reading,
I thank you because I realized that it might have been tough to sit through.
The inspiration of this poem was from a story that I was made privy to about a young lady who was about 15 years old and she was raped.
Then that rape gave birth to a baby,
But the trauma had almost stunted her.
So I can't even imagine what she went through and how she feels.
What I can do is show her compassion and empathy and love and light and honor her courage through the poem entitled Stuck.
Now,
As we shift from our poetry reading into our meditation,
I would like us to take a deep breath in together and out.
Again,
In and out.
This time,
I encourage you to think about these questions and reflect or write about them in your journal or write me a question or comment or even a voice note.
I would love to hear from you.
The first question is,
How did I get to this point in my journey?
This is not an inquiry of judgment or criticism.
This is truly pure curiosity.
Our next question is,
Even if others refuse to,
Am I honoring myself in how I treat myself?
If you need more time to process and to write out your response,
Please feel free to pause our meditation for as much time as you need to so that you can fully flesh out what you need to express.
Our next question is,
How can I show myself compassion today?
How can I show myself compassion today?
You have gone through so much in your life.
There has been countless hills and valleys and twists and turns.
Yet,
You are present in this moment today.
And that is an indescribable feat.
So now,
Let's take some breaths in and out.
We are going to inhale some eternal truths together.
And we're going to exhale the negativity that sometimes plagues our minds.
The first resounding truth is,
I am love.
The next is,
I am resilient.
The next is,
I am cherished.
As we conclude our breath work together,
Let's take one final breath in and out.
Thank you so much for taking this time to be present and thoughtful and compassionate.
And as always,
I look forward to seeing you at the next bend in the road.
