#019 Expect Great Things via Autumn LaBella

✌🎉 Happy Holidays & Xtra warm hugs ✌🎉

Cheers to celebrating cadence, rhythm, fine arts, and another year of curating powerful poetry written by Afro-American women! 

It is no secret that wisdom and literature are etched into the DNA of Afro-American poets. Peace has allowed me to elevate my personal and professional thoughts and in turn, I am living in an elevated reality. No matter what happens in these upcoming months, I am dedicated to cultivating unity between myself, my Spirit, my mind, and my body. Consistent effort is the bittersweet key to making dreams come true.

The only New Year's resolution that I have committed to is nourishing the unwavering self respect that has kept me sane for the majority of 2020. Simple tasks like washing my face before bed, starting the day with prayer and exercise, eating more fruits and vegetables, drinking more water, journaling, monitoring my posture while I work, researching what I don't understand, intentionally writing/speaking affirmations, relaxing when I need to, keeping my word with associates and loved ones as best as I can, and making time for study and practice are all causing domino effects that lead back to the finish line: quality happiness. Gratitude keeps me from sinking into illusions of self-doubt, fear, and anxiety. I am crafting a lifestyle where I expect my goals to be met because I am whole-heartedly doing the work to let positive, productive thoughts create my reality. I am deserving of good things because I work my ass off to make sure I'm in a position to receive them. 

There will always be a no, a doubt, a fear, a problem, a naysayer, a barrier. There are no guarantees that we will be gifted another day to identify and define our Divine purpose. Get into the habit of training your mind to be stronger than your emotions. Do your part, and expect great things!

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Remember Me

I want to people to remember the way I made my greens,

For the way I chassed across kitchen floors.

I want people to remember the way I let the sun kiss me on summer days,

For the way I lifted chins on rainy days.

I want people to remember the way I loved my parents,

For the way I adorned my father's house with art and flora and mended my mother's heart with laughter and a comforting aura.

I want people to remember the way I beat the odds, the pain behind my smiling faces, 

For the way I never folded under pressure in colored or negative spaces.

I want people to remember the way my voice melted their senses,

For the way my drums made their hip bones slip and their backbones dip.

I want people to remember the way I wore my melanin:

Proud and humble

Salty and sweet

Soft and savage

Classical and go-go

Exotic and simple

Remy Martin and alkaline water

Vibrant and victorious

Making good memories,

Making sure my great-great-great grandchildren's classmates know of my poetry.

written by Autumn LaBella, 2020

#018 Alexandra Elle pt. 4, 2015

If you have been enjoying the poetry series on Alex Elle like I have, please feel free to devour her work via Amazon or directly via alexelle.com

I look forward to meditating on and sharing more of her poetry, and I hope you find as much joy as I did digging through her work.

#WRITESIS

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I love seeing:

Black men who undeniably love black women and not just for

our curves, color combinations, thickness, lips and breasts,

but because of our honey, our flavor, our sweetness, our poise

and the loudness of our souls. They see us as Queens; they

crown us as such. It is understood that we can be modestly

grandiose; even though some may claim our blackness leaves

us ashamed and scared to show our God given glow.

I melt seeing:

Black men who undeniably love black women for birthing their

daughters and raising their sons and who embrace that fact that

we are not just a vessel or a beautiful bold statue to show off. 

We are where they come from, we are who they love.

Black Men (Undeniable Love)

written by Alexandra Elle, Love In My Language, 2015.

#017 Alexandra Elle pt. 3, 2015

Honesty Hour

Honestly, I don't really know what I'm doing. 

Half of the time I'm just as confused as everyone else who is 

walking in circles and struggling to catch their breath. I'm

a hopeless romantic who has trouble hiding the fact that I'm

extremely transparent. You can see my truth if you look hard

enough. My heart has been broken so I try not to overwork

her. People I love have vanished and a lot of the time I feel as

if I'm standing alone. I comfort myself with the words of my

poems; I drown in my own zone. Most nights, I don't sleep...

I rather be underdressed than overrated. My personality is

vibrant, paired with a sharp tongue and bad temper but I'm

learning to turn my fire down and allow my soul to simmer. 

I'm a cry baby and a tad bit selfish but I'm relentlessly 

honest about who I'm called to be even if the girl in the

mirror isn't who I want to see. I walk alone on a slightly

wider road because I tend to wander...I've been guilty of

backtracking and I've tripped a few times forward.

I'm blinded by what I'm looking for and I enjoy the rain from

indoors. I don't apologize for my feelings because they give

me character and poise. My pride keeps me quiet and I second

guess my purpose often. I could care less if my clothes match

because they don't reflect my heart. ..

Honestly, I don't really know what I'm doing. 

Half of the time I'm just as confused as everyone else.

written by Alexandra Elle, Love in My Language, 2015.

#016 Leaning. Learning. Loving. via Autumn LaBella

New week, new blessings!

Leaning into the today's poetry while waves of gratitude, openness, renewal, and courage crash on me (totally pretending we are in a warmer part of the hemisphere because winter in the DMV did NOT come to play). In between wrapping up multiple projects that are slowly but surely serenading the masses (stream & purchase Autumn LaBella's artwork), I took my moments to lean into the beautiful poetry from Washington D.C. based author & poet Alexandra Elle.

Learning to apply my why is allowing me to move intentionally in my personal and professional life;  I have allowed humility, faith, and adventure to take the passenger seat on this demanding, but equally exciting journey of branding myself as a businesswoman. I am so ready to receive the blessings (and yes, challenges) that God has in store for me. I am cultivating new relationships with myself and others while simultaneously reshaping ones that I currently have according to my growing spiritual needs. May we never resist the process of shedding habits, thoughts, and energy that no longer serve our greater purpose.

Loving myself has taken top priority as I consistently dedicate myself to my crafts and to my community. I realize that when I am full, I can pour the Light into others. My purpose is to activate my community in a way that inspires poetry, prosperity, and positive productivity. No one can stop me but me.

Leaning. Learning. Loving.

#015 Alexandra Elle pt 2, 2015

Here

I never thought I'd be one for long distance love. I tried it and 

failed at it before so I laid it to rest. My past interest wasn't 

here and when I say "here" I don't mean physically.

I don't want you if you're not present in my life; if you're not

"here" with me I will ask you to leave. I stand tall today in

love with a man that is three-thousand miles away. I can feel

him here despite the distance. He is present and active in my 

life. He is a part of my everyday all the way from 

across the country.

I believe in love because of people like him; people who are

present, aware and interested in loving me how I love them. It's 

such a beautiful feeling. It's a real feeling that is unmatched. 

I met him at a good time, in a good place. We complement one 

another and even though he's not physically here, he is "here"

and that's what's most important. 

written by Alexandra Elle, LOVE In My Own Language, 2015.

This post is dedicated to my dearest friend, Maya, and her new family in Virginia Beach. 

Thank you for teaching me how to love with compassion and patience;

I love you eternally no matter our distance!

#014 Love Languages via Autumn LaBella (Alexandra Elle pt. 1)

Peace family,

Honestly, life has been a whirlwind, so writing this post is a result of me intentionally making the time to be still, to focus, and enjoy this present state of calm and clarity. Taking the time to be still in this world of constant external, even internal stimulation is so hard to do. Family, I am here to remind you to be brave, to be strong, and to be inspired by the poetry in your everyday life. I'll be taking more time to strengthen my inner warrior during this month, but have no fear! 

Into November, I'll be nestled in Alexandra Elle's LOVE In My Language. Lovingly known as "Alex Elle", she is a full-time freelance writer, published author, poet, small business owner, and wellness consultant living in the Washington, DC metro area with her husband and children. What I love about her work so far is that she leaves room underneath certain poems for readers to engage with prompts pertaining to the piece (we are so assuming she is a fan of #WRITESIS). 

In the meantime, take time to nourish your minds, hearts, and spirits too, beloved. Life is too short to let any type of stress diminish your light. If all else fails, you always have that pen and paper!

Autumn LaBella, Founder of WRITE SIS Poetess Movement

Here's a taste of what I'll be reading in November:

Fear isn't allowed to run things over here.

Worry is destined to wither while sitting on my windowsill...

Being terrified to try won't torment me and

my past is no longer allowed to punish me for my

shortcomings; I will be great.

I am determined to be driven...

Nothing can stop my show; I've come too far to fumble the

dreams that belong to me.

-Bold

written by Alexandra Elle, LOVE In My Language, 2015.

#013 Cierra Lione, 2020

 To love me is like making history

You taste the minerals on my skin

If I let you in

There's joy and laughter

There's crying after

I am the breathes between sex

The exhales between Heaven and hell colliding

I am everyone I confide in

Soft like soil

Gritty like gravel

Warm like tea

Bite like wine

 But still smooth

I take what I give

I am what I feel

I am she

Not girl

Her

Him and I are together

Like marriage

We divide and conquer

I am dominant

Over my domain

But feminine just the same

To see me

Is to see God

To feel me is to feel God

To curse me is to curse God

I am handwritten

Cursive

To study me

Is to study hieroglyphics

To bathe in my Sun

You must thrive off my moon

Both OYA and OSHUN.

written by Cierra Lione, She's Curious and I Wonder, 2020.