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[terimariedegree]

#amazing 30 ppl + me put the @charitywater bday fundraiser above goal by $300! It's open for 20 more days but I'm pleased as punch and not gonna bring it up asking folks anymore. I still have some who I believe will make good on their verbal commitments so who knows, might even hit $2k! #thankyall #thatsitthatsall #cleanwaterforall https://www.instagram.com/p/CP9wu3ODcLLdwOVobBVV94jcljfjTq-6MTuaR00/?utm_medium=tumblr

#amazing #thankyall #thatsitthatsall #cleanwaterforall

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#almostthere 💜💧 I'm getting ready to hit the road (sidebar: I #always think of #ameliabedelia when I come across #hittheroad because she went & hit the street 😂) #ahem #anyway I'm heading for a #bdaytrip so likely won't post about the fundraiser again until after my #bday It's so close to goal! Thank yall! I'm very much looking forward to seeing the bump tomorrow on my actual birthday, I'm feeling good about this goal! #charitywater #cleanwaterforall #linktreeinbio #almost40 #happyfriday https://www.instagram.com/p/CPs0tGWF3egC5xWJW5mcGRN9n7baVmlmulsnAY0/?utm_medium=tumblr

#almostthere #always #ameliabedelia #hittheroad #ahem #anyway #bdaytrip #bday #charitywater #cleanwaterforall #linktreeinbio #almost40 #happyfriday

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Passed the halfway mark!!! It says 17 people have donated but #technically it's been #16people because #idonated first 😁 I'm hoping to have at least 40 actual supporters, #40years helping #40people get #cleanwater I appreciate all the verbal or web based intentions to give, looking forward to seeing those come in! Check out my #linktreeinbio #bdayfundraiser #charitywater #bewhatyoudream #whileyoustillcan #launch https://www.instagram.com/p/CPf9Uw1lJ2EZKRphhTsmtenaOu2-yUgskxdqms0/?utm_medium=tumblr

#technically #16people #idonated #40years #40people #cleanwater #linktreeinbio #bdayfundraiser #charitywater #bewhatyoudream #whileyoustillcan #launch

[terimariedegree]

My plants drink #cleanwater it got me thinking how they drink cleaner water than some people and then thought it a worthwhile #pondering to share with yall #cleanh20 for #thebig40 fundraiser No #donation is too small, it all helps! #happysunday I'm off schedule but it's ok because #thatsmybusiness #plantwateringday #plantwater #thingsthatmakeyougohmmm #cleanwaterforall see the #linktreeinbio #bewhatyoudream #whileyoustillcan #launch https://www.instagram.com/p/CPOFY1tFtsDb7yzgdRMONrmfFAwzCGwZ_XmnMk0/?utm_medium=tumblr

#cleanwater #pondering #cleanh20 #thebig40 #donation #happysunday #thatsmybusiness #plantwateringday #plantwater #thingsthatmakeyougohmmm #cleanwaterforall #linktreeinbio #bewhatyoudream #whileyoustillcan #launch

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This is the view from one of my bedroom windows. It's lovely and I'm ultra thankful for this space. Geese, ducks, frogs, weeping willows, sometimes we see cardinals, and even hummingbirds! I was trying to help my 11 year old understand why I wanted to do a #charitywater fundraiser. I said imagine if we had no running water; that means no sinks, no baths, no washing machine, no toilets! And instead we just went out back to the pond and that's the water we used to drink, cook, wash our clothes and wash ourselves with, the same water the ducks and frogs are in right now - we will help people who do something similar and this will be better for their health and well being. He understood. Do YOU? Find out how to donate to the #cleanh20 for #thebig40 fundraiser with the #linktreeinbio 💜 #happysaturday #bdayfundraiser #joinus 🚿🚽🛁💧@charitywater #bewhatyoudream #whileyoustillcan #launch https://www.instagram.com/p/CPLYI9VFodVUknonsTlA7qZJCjxqUFSzAWXGiA0/?utm_medium=tumblr

#charitywater #cleanh20 #thebig40 #linktreeinbio #happysaturday #bdayfundraiser #joinus #bewhatyoudream #whileyoustillcan #launch

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Thankful to @artlitlab for the #nationalpoetrymonth feature! I write a lot of #poems connected to my actual life and experiences. This one was imagined, inspired by some real things, like the founder of #santefe & a #treasurehunt 😁 It's been very interesting to connect with folks after they read it 💜 #poemfeature #newmexico #hospice #bewhatyoudream #whileyoustillcan #launch https://www.instagram.com/p/CNxud2nFzKObh_q-I3qjCg3QLvZ25Q4MWUSwfI0/?igshid=13lq432h53axp

#nationalpoetrymonth #poems #santefe #treasurehunt #poemfeature #newmexico #hospice #bewhatyoudream #whileyoustillcan #launch

[terimariedegree]

raspy rapper resting

stop!

drop!

if your next thought

is not

“shut em’ down, open up shop!”

then you may be excused

this poem is not for you

if you stay

first

take a break

ask The Google to tell you about the quotation

then by all means

reconvene reading

ahem

so there’s bright colors and tattooed brown skin

leather and bike tire smoke

and let me not front

if i lived close enough

i wouldn’t have joined them outside in the streets

blasting the music

sporting the double Rs

but when i saw them outside the hospital, i cared

i don’t even barely know the words outside the choruses

but when i heard him on the radio today, i paused

respectively, as i reflect i think this solemness is less about him

more about me

another fixture from youth removed

hearing Martin & Eddie jokingly say, “we next!” and singing, “The Upper Room”

time marches on

and when it’s waves wash over and drag away

pull under one that once walked alongside you

a space remains

and those waves, they keep gaining

one day and soon 

those waves will be back for you

#National Poetry Writing Month #dmx #ripdmx #napowrimo 2021 #napowrimo #napowrimo2021 #ruff ryders #poetry

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The #haiku is one of the more popular styles of #poetry and folks have been bringing them up to me lately I almost always write #freeversepoetry because it's earnestly what I like the most and if you don't have form forcing your words the #poem comes forth faster I'd been mulling over these thoughts for a while though so this one didn't take too long trying to find words to match the syllable requirements. And yes the 7 syllable line wrapped but idc bc this was an easy way to format using my phone 🤷🏾‍♀️😁 #anyway I don't see #panhandlers anymore unless I go into the city. I was there Friday so sure enough, I did. We didn't have a personal interaction though. And on my balcony there's enough seed to feed chipmunks, gray squirrels and many kinds of birds. I love watching who shows up, I'm happy to share with them... And yes, I'll make a donation to an organization for the #unhoused but the 1:1 ask, even when I legit didn't have anything or couldn't spare anything, my heart more times had #contempt vs #empathy #thisismyconfession And with this, finally 1 of many #poeticthoughts is out of my head! Plus I wrote first thing in the morning, with a pencil and paper, before making tea!!! #takethatmonday 😎 #nationalpoetrymonth #napowrimo #napowrimo2021 Inspiration #scripture is #matthew6 💜 #moderndaypsalmist #haikupoetry #bemindful #mondaymusings #poetryisnotdead #mondayiswhatyoumakeit #poetsandwritersofinstagram #igpoets #bymepoetry #instagrampoets #bewhatyoudream #whileyoustillcan #launch https://www.instagram.com/p/CNSObALljI3b-F-8Y1Zz-R0MTxaI1sH8NLl2Q00/?igshid=81m2dd6bf50l

#haiku #poetry #freeversepoetry #poem #anyway #panhandlers #unhoused #contempt #empathy #thisismyconfession #poeticthoughts #takethatmonday #nationalpoetrymonth #napowrimo #napowrimo2021 #scripture #matthew6 #moderndaypsalmist #haikupoetry #bemindful #mondaymusings #poetryisnotdead #mondayiswhatyoumakeit #poetsandwritersofinstagram #igpoets #bymepoetry #instagrampoets #bewhatyoudream #whileyoustillcan #launch

[terimariedegree]

Napkin dried tears

reheated restaurant bought Soul Food that was moved from styrofoam container to one of the good plates because today is still special the clank of spoon unheard because laughter from shared meals’ past envelopes what was meant to uplift seems to have mistakenly misstepped onto a memory mine hidden hidden like the loaf pan in the freezer door which is to say it is something someone unfamiliar could plainly see but for you it has become unseen scenery silver block frozen brick of meat prepared by Mom’s hands before she left a gift with a day like today in mind yet still it sits because if it should ever be cooked and eaten then there would be nothing left

#National Poetry Month #30 day challenge #30in30 #napowrimo #napowrimo 2021 #easter #pandemic holiday

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[terimariedegree]

done dreamin’

2021 - had he not been murdered, Dr. King could be 92

i wonder if folks had pushed for the separate but part instead of just the equal

i wonder what now might be like

i wonder if there’d be a Blacks Only number to call for help that brought Black police

Black fighters of fires

Black EMTs

Maybe the number could have been something like #1619

So that what Black folks called to themselves was actually help

not untimely death wrapped in white fear, white hypocrisy, white lies

what happened though is that the separate but was deemed unjust

not quite enough

not worthy to rally for or request

equal took the lead

equal wanted the front seat

equal wanted to drive

equal settled for passenger side

equal never came to be

equal is still waiting

while separate but has long been lost, nearly forgotten

equal seems perhaps to have been the wrong dream

a dream continuously lofted up as ideal

distracting from reality

the truth of forced parallel existence

parallel yet steeped with inequities

like dimensions layered upon one another

varying timelines taking up the same space

separate has been replaced with supposeded progress

progress proclaimed and accepted by the benefactors of unjust practices

their hands falsely labeled unharming

hands that are folded

hands that are not helping

hands not outstretched to clasp with those being snatched up

those hands that are reaching

still

those hands that are expectantly open

still

those hands that carry the belief that equal can be grasped

still

little is said about the ones who advanced beyond the dream

but their actions have garnered my attention

here before us is a great cloud of witnesses

Baker, Wright, Baldwin

oh how i want to be in that number

discarding the but and retiring the desire to fight, hoping to survive, to one day see equal

there is no liberty in this place

just scores of death to those running a rigged race

give me the separate

in that space is a proven and attainable reality

space from excuses

space from rhetoric

space to actually live - now

not wait for the joy of the sweet by & by

listen, i’m done dreamin’!

stop waitin’

stop reachin’

fill those long empty hands with a passport and some bags

claim your peace & don’t look back

[terimariedegree]

I certainly have a blog post's worth of words but this'll do. #lifeofapoet #drdre #readerreflections #arrows #whiteroses #lamentations #ifyouknowyouknow #launch #whileyoustillcan https://www.instagram.com/p/CJuPaQRF6Sv/?igshid=n0nvl9dvgx8p

#lifeofapoet #drdre #readerreflections #arrows #whiteroses #lamentations #ifyouknowyouknow #launch #whileyoustillcan

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I was just minding my own business earlier when I received an unexpected follow-up message from a publisher asking if I was still interested in them publishing my work. #umyes 😁 and so just like that three poems are on deck for #2021publication along with a fourth under a different publisher. #imthankful Thanks to an awesome #praiseparty with @elevationchurch I am also wide awake and likely will actually make it to midnight in CST... nevermind I'm going to bed soon after😂 #ahem #anyway #my2020 was many things, one theme was #catapult and so naturally part of #2021 will be #launch 😎 #staytunedformore on that #happynewyear #staysafeoutthere and really stay safe indoors! #covidreality #lifeofapoet #bewhatyoudream #whileyoustillcan 💜 https://www.instagram.com/p/CJfZbgvFhX2/?igshid=1d1iexkolem3s

#umyes #2021publication #imthankful #praiseparty #ahem #anyway #my2020 #catapult #2021 #launch #staytunedformore #happynewyear #staysafeoutthere #covidreality #lifeofapoet #bewhatyoudream #whileyoustillcan

[terimariedegree]

Savor by @sniequist A daily devotional with 365 entries that I'll finish tomorrow. The thing is, I received it as a gift over 5 years ago. I tried using it as a daily devotional many times and love the fact it has recipes included; Blueberry Morning Cake is my favorite! I've even gifted copies to other people. But it took me until this year to actually sit with it once each day. A goal I tossed out there this time last year not knowing how critical devotional time was going to be in this season. This book joined me during my week long hospital stay, back when I was reading with just one eye... it's been one of the many ways God helped me use this extra time to myself for good. Sometimes it's so easy to make assumptions about why someone is or isn't doing something. All of the time though there is more to the story. I meant to post this days ago but didn't because, vacation. There's even more to that story too. Anyhow the calendar is changing soon but this season isn't near over just yet. As you reflect on yourself be mindful we all have a backstory and if you can't be bothered to learn from someone you're encouraged to not bother them period. #couldhavebeenablogpost #butthatsmybusiness #lifeofapoet #dailydevotional #hardcopy #reflections #almostnewyear #catapult #bewhatyoudream #whileyoustillcan https://www.instagram.com/p/CJbWQ8wFcVL/?igshid=94eq8dhjvk12

#couldhavebeenablogpost #butthatsmybusiness #lifeofapoet #dailydevotional #hardcopy #reflections #almostnewyear #catapult #bewhatyoudream #whileyoustillcan

[terimariedegree]

Nick got an awesome gift from his piano teacher and it reminded me of his piano player poems from last school year 💜 #flashbackpoem #flashbackpoetry #lifeofapoet #poetparent #kidpoetry #piano #pianoplayer #ornaments #countdowntochristmas https://www.instagram.com/p/CJBwKjLFUyb/?igshid=190ce84g91hja

#flashbackpoem #flashbackpoetry #lifeofapoet #poetparent #kidpoetry #piano #pianoplayer #ornaments #countdowntochristmas

[terimariedegree]

I've shared about participating in this fundraiser many times over the last several years. Some of yall have donated and I've been appreciate because @woodlandpattern is a worthy org to support - it blesses the poetry community here many times over! The silver lining to COVID based adjustments is the 2021 fundraiser will be compromised of recorded performances - which means that wherever you are, you can view my performance! More on the exact time of my recording as we get closer but for now if you'd like to support you can go to the link in my bio and when asked which reader you'd like to support enter my name. Thanks! #2021event #staytunedformore #virturalreading #poetryfundraiser #poetryisnotdead #mkepoet #linkinbio #catapult #bewhatyoudream #whileyoustillcan https://www.instagram.com/p/CIwe6KFlqob/?igshid=1nbuj7kczkm5v

#2021event #staytunedformore #virturalreading #poetryfundraiser #poetryisnotdead #mkepoet #linkinbio #catapult #bewhatyoudream #whileyoustillcan

[terimariedegree]

it seems folks pay the most attention to my work that includes pain of some sort, whether real or imagined. I think it'd do our culture some good to acknowledge pain more. I don't have grandchildren so this is made up... but I repost it every so often because of knowing this is real for someone. Unfortunately. #lifeofapoet #throwbackpoem #someoneoutthere #throwbackwriting #flashbackpoem #poetryisnotdead #glassbetweenus #colormeaning #throwbackpoetry #flashbackpoetry #babyblue #prisonorange #poetrystory #catapult #bewhatyoudream #whileyoustillcan 💜 https://www.instagram.com/p/CIb6ZrLFRdC/?igshid=ejaev7p1g3c5

#lifeofapoet #throwbackpoem #someoneoutthere #throwbackwriting #flashbackpoem #poetryisnotdead #glassbetweenus #colormeaning #throwbackpoetry #flashbackpoetry #babyblue #prisonorange #poetrystory #catapult #bewhatyoudream #whileyoustillcan