We are all a little broken.
That’s the truth.
That’s the naked heart of it.
It’s not pretty.
It’s raw and messy and hard.
But, that just means we tried at something.
And all we can do is try.
All we can do is follow the light.
Self Portrait Week 30: Hotel Room
The light is on, my love.
With a heart I am prying open,
I wait.
Self Portrait Week 29: Magic
Magic.
Personal expression
Magnificently mingles with the
Energy that surrounds me.
I am grateful to the universe
For the creation that
Emerges from these moments.
And sometimes,
I hear the universe thank me in return.
A reminder that I hold great power.
Self-Portrait Week 28: Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?
Man. Up.
Those are all the words I have, boys.
You have taken them all.
Perhaps I’ll find a few floating in the bottom of
my glass of whiskey.
And even if I do… I’m not giving them to you.
Self-Portrait Week 27: The Traveler
I am a traveler
looking towards
the undiscovered
with
wanting.
Self-Portrait Week 26: A Happy Accident
Sometimes,
when you’re looking
for the light...
the
light
finds
you.
Self-Portrait Week 25: A Real Woman
a real woman sits here.
powerful. positive. mortal.
she adapts well.
she has loved epically.
she has scars of disappointments.
she has stood up for what she wants.
she has faith.
she has doubts.
this above all...
she has vision.
Self Portrait Week 24: Remember
A Love Letter to the Class of ‘99
I feel time.
Beautiful shadows of young dreams
peer through the blazing eyes
of the adult versions of ourselves.
With a smile, we release the tension and the nerves.
How refreshing it is to be remembered.
The past arrives in our veins abruptly,
with drunk fire.
And for a moment reminds us of who we were.
I honor it and drink it in one gulp.
I will remember you, my friends.
With you, I discovered my core.
And so, you became a part of that.
Self Portrait Week 23: Comfort
I ache all over.
At the end of the fight.
Sometimes a girl just needs to be held.
Self Portrait Week 22: The Wolf
Stimulated by war.
By lust.
By visceral passion for what she wants.
Wild.
Fierce.
She will survive
by any means necessary.
She is a Wolf.
And she is not to be trifled with.
Self Portrait Week 21: Heart Chakra
today I unfolded my past.
it was crumpled up in a drawer
behind poetry books, skepticism and old birthday cards.
a woman who once had an open heart.
she was so beautiful.
proof that it can happen again.
i long to be cracked open.
Perspective
Self Portrait Project Week 20: Perspective
Here, I see the sky.
Here, I am part of the earth.
Here, things are growing up and I am a part of that.
Here, shadows are chased by light that sparkles.
Here, I smell the leaves and the grass and the spirits and hope.
Here, I feel spirits.
Here, I know there is more in this universe than rocks and air.
Here, I feel beauty.
So I’ll continue looking in this direction.
Self Portrait Week 19: Self Love
To myself…
I vow to see you.
I vow to be kind.
I vow to be gentle.
I vow to be understanding.
I vow to use my voice.
I vow to be supportive.
I vow to be truthful.
I vow to believe in possibilities.
I vow to accept in every stage.
I vow to deem you worthy.
I vow to challenge.
I vow to inspire.
I vow to love.
Self Portrait Week 18: NYC
NYC
a glance of fate around me.
a unique delight
of the bustling empire.
drunken.
divine.
alive.
dreams bursting from skyscrapers.
stale hope singing on street corners.
a spectacle of talent and chance.
people making life happen.
or waiting for life to happen.
Self Portrait Week 17: Upside-Down
turn my world back into a place
where sunsets are magic
and first touches ignite my insides to poetry.
anything less feels wrong.
right my world.
and i’ll show you a world
you never knew existed.
Self-Portrait Week 16: Burned
When the fire is hot
And my guard is down…
The fire finds my skin and claims it.
It screams.
Transforms fair white to blood red.
It takes but a mere moment to change it forever.
It doesn’t long to be touched.
It doesn’t crave to be seen.
It needs to hide and heal in private.
One day the hurt will stop.
One day the scar will fade.
But when you look closely…
It’s there. It’s always there.
Self-Portrait Week 15: My World
My World
the radiant world trembled
in my hand.
i plucked it from the cosmos
moments before it got
burned by the
doubt of the disbelievers.
and now, I hold the oceans
and the deserts
and the mountains
and the dreams of the believers
in my hands,
and worship them
like they are my reasons for being.
oh, that’s right... they always were.
Self Portrait Week 14: Shadows
we, tired little disasters
question the path.
crushing cigars and flower petals,
listening to beautiful cruel passion
absorb into our being.
swallowed in one gulp
by our thirsty hearts.
Self Portrait Project Week 13: Fishing
Self-Portrait Project Week 12: My Love of Pink Trees
“And then one day, you fall asleep underneath it… and have this amazing dream that it bloomed right before your eyes, surrounding you in light pink flowers. And then the wind comes and blows through the flowers, and shakes them loose…so there is pink snow falling around you… seemingly from Heaven. And you feel beautiful and alive and free. And then you lay on the ground in this blanket of pink snow… and you breathe it in so deep… because you are so afraid that you’re going to wake up and it’s all going to be gone,”
- A quote from Running Into Monet, by Camile Arnone
Those who know me best, know how symbolic pink trees are to me. It’s always been my vision of love. Standing beneath these beautiful trees this time of year, I feel at home. I am reminded of my beautiful college experience; walking thru my quad with old friends that just got “it.” I am reminded of writing my first full-length play, Running Into Monet, which is centered around this symbolism. I am reminded of what I’m capable of doing when I put my mind to it. And I’m reminded that beautiful moments are sometimes as fleeting as the two weeks of pink trees in the spring… but I guess that’s what makes them so precious.