The Poetry
Throughout my life, I’ve always turned to language and literature as a cathartic release, whether through reading, speaking multiple languages, or writing poetry. The poems included before each chapter in this book are my original works. At the time of their creation, I had no inkling of a desire to write a book, but once I began this journey, I re-read these poems and discovered a thread connecting them to the memories I shared that can only be described as synchronicity. As you read these poems and the subsequent chapters, you should be able to see the connections between the poems and the memories, and gain further insight into the impact these experiences made on my life.
The In-Between
I surrender to travel back
Searching for truth buried in many lives
My soul stretching out through time
While my body holds tight to now
Slowly my body’s grip lessens
I feel heavy and weightless all at once
Behind my shuttered eyes, my mind sees only light
As my soul slips into the in-between
The warmth spreads slowly through my limbs
My cheeks catch fire as the intensity grows
Although blinded by the glow
There is no fear, no trepidation
The span of minutes - felt like a lifetime
The heaviness lifts as if every cell had carried a burden
Yet simultaneously, all the spaces inside me fill
This emptying and filling laced with silence
Quietly and slowly, I rejoin the now
Feeling both replete and weightless
This lightness of being singing, “I matter, I matter!”
What lessons await in the in-between?
Yesenia B. Sevilla - March 1, 2022
Open
How often do we hide deep inside our shells?
Cracked open enough to invite in tendrils of light
Closed enough to barricade ourselves within
Few open and close effortlessly enough with the current
The motion like a deep breath and slow exhalation
Most flutter without rhythm in random maddening intervals
Some lay closed and quite for a lifetime
Yesenia B. Sevilla - March 8, 2022