Heart Work E-Book

Kevin Wright

• Herausgeber: BooxAi
• Kategorie: Poesie und Drama
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

Heart Work is a poetic rollercoaster. This book explores the essence of unknown feelings and emotions. It creates an opportunity to receive closure in some ways while being lost in other ways and being okay with it. There is no universal way of how the heart works, yet it is the hope that the poems in this book can provide clarity. The journey to healing is not easy, but it is worth it. It is hard work and Heart Work!

Leseprobe

Kevin Wright

Heart Work

All rights reserved

Copyright © 2023 by Kevin Wright

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Cover Art: Cristina Meraz Garcia

Published by BooxAi

ISBN: 978-965-578-538-8

Heart Work

Kevin Wright

Author’s Dedication

Heart Work is inspired by my grandmother, Ruby Lee Wright; her presence was poetry. This collection is dedicated to the Black womxn who raised me, loved me, cared for me, and helped me discover my purpose to serve as a voice for the voiceless.

Author Bio

Kevin was raised in the Historic Westside of Las Vegas, NV, with the love and labor of multiple Black womxn. Born from a lineage of African, Creole, and Indigenous ancestry, he currently serves as a Racial Equity Advocate and Consultant, where he is responsible for serving as a voice for the voiceless.  Wright's commitment to racial justice, equity, and inclusion is guided by his approach to dismantling systems rooted in white supremacy while advocating for individuals with historically marginalized identities. After over a decade of ghostwriting, Kevin decided to claim his own voice and thoughts by sharing who he is through the gift of poetry. This would not be possible without the care, guidance, and mentorship of other poets and artists in the Las Vegas community.

Illustrator Bio

Cristina Meraz Garcia is a Mexican-American artist, born in 1993 in Evanston, Illinois, and moved to Las Vegas at a young age with her mother, brother, father, and dog, Osa. She has been drawing since the age of 5. Art has always been such a big part of Cristina’s life, starting with inspiration from her older brother, Raul. Cristina began to notice this was a way for her to escape and to focus on drawing to become better every chance she could. Drawing was all Cristina could think about and do; in school, teachers used to take her pens and markers away, and even pencils, because all she would do was find ways to draw either on herself or on things around her. Cristina was inspired by so many things, such as movies, music, photography, love, and traveling to places she’d never seen before. As Cristina got older, life came in fast; she let herself, others, and things get in the way of her fire and her love to make time for art. Later in life, she was able to find that light, with the door still cracked open and never closed. Cristina began to create once again, challenging herself with new ways to make art. She believed in herself enough to start selling custom pieces to people, as well as doing make-up. Meeting some amazing people along the way, Cristina was able to create custom designs for her first client, Legendary Empowerment. While working full-time in the medical field, Cristina also illustrated designs for an educational book titled, “Pearls for Primary Care: Integrating Biochemistry, Physiology, and Clinical Skills To Optimize Outpatient Medicine” by Dr. Michael B. Jacobs. Cristina’s goal is to be able to create or to be a part of a creation that is beautiful, moving, and inspiring for herself and for others.

Illustrator’s Dedication

I’d like to dedicate this publication to the people who saw something in me when I didn’t. To the people that gave me opportunities to be a better version of myself. To the people I never get to see again, or enough, but I remember how they impacted my life. My brother, Raul, for starting this fire in me as a kid. Carmela, my mom, and my pops, Raul, for always believing in my talent. Thank you. A special thank you to Kevin for being patient with me, guiding me, believing in me, and having the trust and the opportunity to be alongside him in making this come to life. HEYO!

CMerazArt

Mission Statement: The purpose of my business is to be able to do something that I love and have an outlet for everything that I feel.

Vision Statement: To create custom art pieces that are beautiful, moving, and inspiring. To be the preferred artist for custom creations. To have others be able to visualize themselves in my work.

Illustrator’s Note

Each poem has a different style of art because of the different emotions they activate. I aimed to infuse my art with Kevin’s vision and poetic style. This project granted me the opportunity to express myself freely, and I hope you enjoy what I created.

Instagram: Cmeraz_art

TikTok: Cmeraz_art

All rights reserved. All artwork of this book may not be reproduced or used in any manner without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

Heart Work Artwork Copyright © 2023 CMerazArt

Author’s Note

Healing is hard.

Heart Work is a means to stop letting the past go unchecked. It is an opportunity to be face-to-face with the things you thought no longer hurt you. While the poems are written from my lived experiences, I acknowledge these experiences are not mine exclusively. I hope these poems resonate with the reader in a way that reminds them that they are not alone.

Healing is hard.

However, you don't have to do it alone. Heart Work is a reminder that it is okay to ask for help and be vulnerable. It also reminds us to set boundaries, speak our truth responsibly, and let go of the things and people that no longer add value to our lives. This is a moment where we can have the audacity to take back our right and ability to heal.

Healing is hard.

I hope these poems make you feel seen. Everyone's journey looks different, and what matters is that you don't lose sight of the end goal. Heart Work pushes us to be okay with expecting and accepting non-closure. Coming to terms with love, loss, transition, trauma, and many other things is not a cute or quick process. However, waking up each day to be better is a blessing in itself.

Healing is hard.

Yet, we are resilient! Don't forget about your worth and value in this world. Don't discount where you've been, and don't lose sight of where you're going. You are a miracle and a work in progress all at once.

Contents

The Drifter

Hmm

Prodigal Son

The Garden

Little One

The Matriarch

Concussion

Jared

MSY

Creole Connection

Dying to Live

Cosmopolitan

Rediscovery

WTF?

One Day Apart

Lakewood

Why I Run

Aviata

Given Grace

The option but not the priority

Response to TikTok Challenge

Entanglement Coffee

Fatherhood

Pho

December 16th

Your Life

It hurts sometimes

Huh?

GAOTU

What’s Next?

Sleepless Nights

Take my anus

The Visitor

Pandammit

Blindsided

Chosen Family

Summer Cleaning

Mind Trip

Heavy Degree

Poolside

Galleria @ Sunset

To my students

Loving Day

Productive Night

Juneteenth

Knowledge

Is this real?

Heal

Thank You

The Drifter

Maybe I'm here to exist instead of actually live

To exist in a manner where I spread as much light as possible

And then go home to sit in darkness

To break rules

To reframe ideologies

To challenge the norm

To bring about positive change

Only for others to enjoy

I don't want to exist

I want to live

I want to love

I want to be in love

But maybe I don't deserve that

Because it's not my purpose

I've given so much to others

Yet my generosity is

mistaken for harmful intent

It pains me to witness

how one's harm still has power over them

It hurts knowing some can never

understand how much love they deserve

You suffer in silence

You endure much struggle

You encounter so much evil

You ask for happiness

You pray for better

And then you get it

But have no idea what to do with it

You don't wanna lose it

And yet you don't think you can accept it

You figure it's a lose-lose situation

If you accept it, but fuck up, you lose it

And if you let it go, you still lose it

I'm sorry for representing uncertainty for you

My only intention was

to give you what you deserve

and what you asked for

I just wanna live

But it seems like that's not my purpose

So I'll just be here and exist

and watch you accept my gifts

From someone else

Hmm

It took a lot for me to be here

A womxn’s peace was interrupted with fear

A man fought to protect his family

His colonizers gave him a choice: the ship or the sea

A fucked up cruise trip traveled to foreign land

A man and womxn struggled to stay together hand in hand

They were stripped of their names and had to learn a distinct trade

This man and womxn were forced to be enslaved

They had children who fought to not be separated

Born into a world where their Blackness triggered hatred

Over a hundred years of ridicule and pain

With freedom on their mind, and liberation to gain

To get away from their colonizers, they had to travel far