Poetic Peach

A blog on poetry, money, life and travel

poetry

How to find magic during the holidays

Holiday magic

The magic of the holidays still persists even in 2020. I’m still in disbelief that Christmas is less than a week away! It felt as if the year was dragging along at a crawl with no end in sight for so long, and now we are at the end. Even though the world is still not normal as we knew it 10 months ago, the wonder and awe of the season has still come back to greet us.

Bright, glowing energy

Around this time of year when the lights start to come up around the neighborhood and scents of cinnamon and sugar waft through the air, a warm and lighthearted energy seems to encompass the world. It seems not to be one thing in particular that causes this, but a culmination of different things that causes this sort of magic. For me, this energy is bright and glowing which I summarize as aglow.

Funny how the darkest days of winter are some of the best days of the year.

Things that make the world aglow

A world aglow and what that encompasses can mean different things to different people. What are some things that make your world aglow? Often times it are things that we are grateful for or enchant us. Make a list and let yourself appreciate the magic of the holidays after such a chaotic year. Below I have a list of things that may spark some inspiration for a poem of your own.

  • Crackling/hissing fire
  • Frozen fingers curled around a warm cup of hot cocoa
  • Nostalgic ornaments hanging on a tree
  • Snuggled up on the coach with fuzzy blankets watching Christmas movies
  • The smell of fresh cookies when you open the oven
  • Watching the snow fall on a cold winter night
  • Crunching through freshly fallen snow
  • The silence as the snow falls
  • Smells of pine, sugar, cinnamon and ginger

Is there anything you would add to the list? Anything stir your poetic mind? Let me know <3

Feel free to shoot me a message of your poems, I would love to read them! To read more poems from myself and others, check out the link below:

https://poeticpeach.com/category/poetry/

How heartbreak led to beautiful poetry

Heartbreak

The morning started with a facetime filled with giggles and texts with kissy faces. The night ended with puffy eyes and a tear soaked pillow. The sorrowful heartbreak led to some beautiful poetry.

The fall

Golden light shimmers upon you one moment, life’s darkest hour descends upon you the next. Stumbles and fumbles are anticipated, but no one is ever truly prepared for the fall from grace.

If life was an ocean, we spend most of our time bobbing around in semi calm sea states. There are the occasional crests and troughs amongst the waves, but nothing we are capable of handling. However, there are exceptions to this monotonous lull. One can awaken to find the water smooth as glass reflecting a beautiful blue sky or, in my case, a storm that constructs waves that dare to pound you into the bottom of Mariana’s trench.

Ok, I’ll stop with the illustration I’m butchering, but you get the point! In times of pure bliss or gut wrenching anguish, we can be at a loss of words due to be enveloped by an overwhelming surge of emotion. Luckily, as I learned, time turns these intense emotions are corrected to the steady state we are normally used to.

Capturing the feeling

There is something magical about capturing a feeling; it’s almost like encapsulating a bit of the human soul. It’s then no surprise that so many people choose to transfer their feelings into words, so that others may read them and feel the same emotion.

In the heat of the moment, it can be hard to truly formulate the experience into a string of words. It is sometimes only after the rush of such a powerful event that it can be possible to write the experience down. It can be moments after, or perhaps years after, but once the perfect jumble of letters form a string of words that when read make you hair on your arms stand up, you know that you captured that feeling,

It then becomes a choice to continue to relive the experience by re-reading the words, letting other experience it by sharing, or laying it to rest by destroying it. In any case, once it is written, it is empowering to know that you have control over your experience. You may not have been able to have controlled how or why you underwent the event, but afterwards you have the ability to direct where that feeling goes. You can let it live on or let it die. You are the keeper of your experiences.

My heart break poem

In my case, I went through a really rough breakup that left me feeling shattered (hence my heartbreak poem, Broken Pieces). After a few days when I was able to collect myself into a normal functioning adult again, I crafted this poem. As you may notice, it is very dark; a great representation of my mind during the midst of the heartache.

Having written it out and seeing it displayed in black and white on a page helped me let go of such weighing emotions that I was clinging to. It was as if I had set them free.

Write it out

I know, I know, I sound a little crazy, but if you’re dealing with something painful, I highly suggest taking up a pen and jotting the thoughts down. You don’t even need a pen, writing notes on the phone works too! When I first started, I made a list of bullet point with one word emotions. Eventually I was able to grow my list into phrases and then a poem!

Scribbling out words is like creating cracks in a dam. At first, small cracks start to form letting small streams of water out. Then at some point, the damn busts open, releasing all your pent up feelings come gushing out.

Ok, I’ll get off my soap box, but don’t knock it ’till you try it!

Same goes for positive emotions too. If you just had the most fantastically amazing day ever, write it down! Save it and cherish it. Your words leave your story behind.

Closing

Thank you all for those that read to this point. For those that are skimmers, here were the take away closing points:

  • Good and bad days equal out eventually
  • Write down the feelings you experienced through the extreme highs and lows

That’s all for now. One of the poems I wrote during my heart healing process is down below. Other poems can be found by clicking on this link: https://poeticpeach.com/category/poetry/

Let me know if you have any poems that you would like to share!

Fresh Poetry Screensavers + how to create your own!

Greetings to all the poets and friends alike!

With the change in season and with promises of a COVID vaccine coming soon, I decided I needed a spruce up in my life with some more positive energy. To start off easy, I focused on my digital world and focused on finding a new screensaver.

The search for screensavers

I’ve recently been getting into Law of Attraction, so I spent time on google images, random blogs, and Pinterest searching for a screensaver that was feminine and had a powerful mantra, quote or poetry on it. I stumbled across some diamonds in the rough, but was still not completely satisfied with anything I came across. Then, after looking through my journal, I realized I had a few words of my own I could use to create my own screensavers.

Que Canva.com

Off I went to Canva.com to create. If you haven’s used Canva.com, I highly recommend giving it a look. I use the site for all of my photos used on this blog, on my social media platforms, and now for screensavers! They have so many cute templets for all sorts of things. From YouTube thumbnails to infographic posters, they got you covered. The best part is, most of it is free. They have a pro version that you can purchase, but I’ve been able to exclusively use their free version with no issues. Check them out here: https://www.canva.com/

Now, I realize these are super simple, nothing crazy deep type of quotes and sayings. I actually created a few that don’t even have any words on it! I personally just like the aesthetic of them, so I wanted to share. Honestly, it took me less than 5 minutes to make one and was pretty fulfilling to see my words come out looking like something I’d pin on Pinterest.

I somehow forgot that it’s nearly Thanksgiving (I know right?!) and all of these screensavers don’t really give me fall/winter/holidays vibe. O__o

I’ll have to create more Christmas like ones soon, but nonetheless, have fun looking at mine. Scroll below to see them all! If you’re feeling kinda artsy right now, go create your own! If you come up with any good ones, I’d love to see. Be sure to check out some other poems from myself and other poets! https://poeticpeach.com/category/poetry/

Screensavers

Not my own words, just a basic saying 😉
Also not my own words, I just like the saying.

10 things you should do BEFORE your first adventure + poetry to spark wanderlust

Every adventure starts out with the unknown. Minimize the avoidable mishaps by reading the 10 things I wish I knew before my first adventure.

#1 – Buy a wall adapter! This is an absolute must for those traveling overseas. What a shock it was when my phone was at 3% at the hotel in the Netherlands ready for bed and my adapter didn’t plug into the wall! Buy one ahead of time and save yourself the headache and $$$ overseas. Don’t know which one to buy? I recommend buying a universal adapter, that way you’re prepared for anything!

#2 – Start an art/regular travel journal. I started this waayyy to late into my travels! I didn’t have anything fancy when I started-just a pen and two highlighters. But even now looking back, I love my entries where I captured that view going through the Suez or my documentation I of the conversations in the restaurant in Sri Lanka. Check Pinterest for some inspiration for your journal!

#3 – Don’t pack more than one pair of jeans. Two if you’re really a jean person. Seriously, you don’t need more than that. Pack light and efficient. It depends on the climate and place, but in general, pack a pair of jeans, khaki/black pants, yoga pants and sweats/shorts (for pajamas in case the hotel is cold/warm!)

#4 – Bring the following: a rain jacket (you never know when it will start pouring), a small backpack (for hands-free day trips), comfy shoes (so you don’t cut any day short due to tired feet) and a lock (for lockers at hostels/hotels).

#5 – Cash is king – hide a wad somewhere. You’ll never know what kind of situation you’ll end up in. Be prepared for an unfortunate circumstance. Hide a stash of a hundred or so somewhere not easily accessible. This way, in the worst case scenario where you lose your wallet or your credit card gets eaten by an ATM, you’re not suddenly having the worst day ever.

#6 – Set the intention. Why are you traveling? Is it to discover the most perfect cafe or is it to get the adrenaline rush you’ve been craving? Setting up what’s important to your travels can help you narrow down plans for the day.

#7 – Balance your indoor and outdoor activities. Get the whole experience a place has to offer! Take an afternoon to roam the streets and sit in the parks. Then in the evening, enjoy a show or a fancy diner.

#8 – Do money conversions about a week before you go. Airports charge a larger fee when you arrive. Save money and head to the bank a week or so before the trip.

#9 – Skip big souvenirs. For the obvious reasons, large keepsakes are cumbersome to haul around a drag back to your home. Opt for postcards or jewelry! Postcards can double as cute pieces of art in frames. Jewelry from around the world will remind you of all your fun times when you accessorize – also can become fun conversation pieces!

#10 – Read a book set in the place you’re headed to. This creates more of a connection to the place before you get there. Then when you finally arrive, you can experience the novel in a more first hand experience.

What are your travel tips you wish you knew before you set out? Let me know in the comments below!

Below is a poem about setting out on the first adventure. Hope it sparks your wanderlust <3 

Off and Away

Should the yearning prove to be
too great to endure
leave swiftly without a trace
This way I know that your desperation
exceeded your fear of my disapproval
 
All I ask
Is that when you take the first few paces
out into the unknown
Savor that initial sensation of detachment
 
Notice
how your feet fly freely beneath you
now that they are unchained from a dwelling
 
Notice
how the air prickles your lungs
stiff with change and boundless possibilities
 
Notice
how your soul flutters wildly
now that you are hummingbird freed from a confine
 
Solidify that moment into your very being
So when you’re ridden with longing for the comfort in the familiar
and your enticed
to make the return voyage home before the exploration begins
You’ll think back to the glory of the beginning
And you’ll find the strength
to endeavor on
 
This way
when you finally come back home to me
you will not tell me a story of defeat
but of magnificent victory
from your adventures 
 
off & away

 - Poetic Peach

If you’d like to read more poems, check out my poem collection here: https://poeticpeach.com/category/poetry/

Do you have any poetry on travel? I’d love the read it! Send them my way.

Hope to see you soon! 🙂

Stay in bed. Poetry for those lazy Sunday afternoons

Happy Sunday to my poets out there!

This is a poem that makes me envision those lazy Sunday afternoons after a nice cat nap. Sometimes it’s just nice to stay in bed and not having the constant pressure of obligations and ever pressing time weighing on you.

Sundays are notorious for being the perfect days for those ‘hard resets’. Some things that help with resetting are:

  • Cleaning – Take a few hours to cleanse your space. Wipe down all the surfaces, catch up on laundry and dishes, sweep and mop, deep clean the tub, vacuum, light some candles, switch out the air fresheners, then change a few photos around the house.
  • Doing something I LOVE – Whether it be eating donuts for brunch, writing poetry, indulging in a lavish bath, or going for a stroll to that part of town that you adore, make time for one activity that you normally don’t have time to do during the week.
  • Meal Prepping – Essential for people who feel like they don’t have enough time during the week! Throw on some TV or your favorite playlist on Spotify and get crackin’!
  • Dancing- Usually Sundays are a rest day, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun while getting up and moving around! I like to pull up Youtube and dance along to my favorite music videos like I’m 15 years old again.
  • Stretching – If you find yourself tight and tense during the week, a quick stretch sesh can help you get you up and moving on Monday.
  • Organizing – This can be your email inbox, a space in your house, your photos on your phone, your car, give something that’s a little chaotic a spruce up.
  • Reaching Out – Call that friend you’ve been meaning to contact all week. Shoot a message to your family. Bonus points if you can whip out a letter or two that you can send in the snail mail. Stay connected. Keep your relationships strong.
  • Sleeping – My personal favorite! A nice nap or simply sleeping in an extra hour or two can help you catch up on the rest you may have been lacking all week.

What are your favorite ways to reset on Sunday?

Let me know in the comments below or feel free to shoot me a message! The link to my contact form is down below.

Thanks for stopping by <3

Salt Kiss – Powerful Poetry that flows using enjambment

Hello Poetry Lovers!

I wanted to throw in a short work that uses enjambment (word of the day!)

Enjambment is a term used when a sentence continues onto the next line without any punctuation. Think of it like a run on sentence that flows from one line to another.

The reason why this is so powerful is because it helps create movement and flow in your poetry. Where a line breaks into a new line is completely up to the poet, which allows for fun experimentation to get the feel of the words just right! You can also have a poem that uses a mix of enjambment and punctuation. For example, note that all my lines in Salt Kiss employ enjambment except for line two as shown below. Here I opted to end my sentence is a period.

“throw me into the sea.”

Part of the reason why poetry is so expressive is because you are not bound by the same grammatical rules as you are in most every day life. When you create your poems, try mixing up your line structure and punctuation. It’s fun to see how you can change the feel of the poem just by doing a few tweaks in the appearance!

Have you created any poems that use enjambment? Let me know! I’d love to read them. <3 Contact me by filling out this contact form in the link below.

https://poeticpeach.com/?page_id=75

Thanks for visiting! See you all soon.

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