So the poem I chose was an original piece I wrote awhile back. I chose this poem because I’m an story teller at heart and I wanted to talk about some of the struggles with that. I believe all art is a representation of life, we just chose the medium to disgust it in. Sometimes the muse isn’t the hard part but sharing the message you learned from the muse is often the challenge. With original content, I often get scared to show it to people. I don’t think it’s good enough. Maybe the message isn’t communicated well, or I worry no one will get. Even worse that the message gets completely twisted. Then I compare myself to other artist. The people brace enough to show their heart to the world. The people who strive to share their stories for cathartic release and not for fame. I tell myself that comparison is theft of joy, and everyone I look up to has been in that same exact moment of doubt. With everything going on in the world it’s our job as story tellers to make sense of it all. Then to share that message to our communities. We live in trying times. Between fighting for just justice reform, and a world wide pandemic, it can be difficult to make sense of what’s going on day to day. This is when story tellers are needed the most. To bring cathartic messages to voices unheard. To show realities of our world we refuse to witness. Then begs the question how to best use those stories. Don’t be afraid to share those stories guys. Push back the early self criticism and share!