i am brave by Linda M. Crate (ONE GOOD MEMORY Series)

i am brave
by Linda M. Crate

fishing through my mind for a good memory,
this one comes to mind: when marcie, alicia,
and i went to pittsburgh;

it was a fun day out in the sun celebrating
the birthdays of alicia and i—

i think my favorite part was the part that
scared me the most,
having a terrible fear of heights the incline
wasn’t the most comfortable of feats for me;

but i faced my fear and showed myself that
i could do difficult things—

sometimes you don’t know the power of
a moment
until it’s gone,

but i will never forget that despite my fear
i pressed on;

so whenever tells me i am a coward
or i am weak
i will steel myself with the knowledge that i am brave.

PHOTO: Monongahela Incline in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a funicular designed in 1870.

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: I read through the prompt of “one good memory,” and I thought surely there must be one good memory to think of. As I sat down to think about it, however, I found the process a little more difficult until I saw a picture of me with my friends standing at the top of the incline with the backdrop of Pittsburgh skyscrapers behind us. That was a really good, fun day and so I decided to immortalize that memory in this poem.

PHOTO: The author (center) with her best friend Alicia (left) and their friend Marcie (right). Taken July 2021 at the Monongahela Incline in Pittsburgh, PA.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Linda M. Crate (she/her) is a Pennsylvanian writer whose poetry, short stories, articles, and reviews have been published in a myriad of magazines both online and in print. She has 11 published chapbooks: A Mermaid Crashing Into Dawn (Fowlpox Press, June 2013), Less Than A Man (The Camel Saloon, January 2014), If Tomorrow Never Comes (Scars Publications, August 2016), My Wings Were Made to Fly (Flutter Press, September 2017),  splintered with terror (Scars Publications, January 2018), More Than Bone Music (Clare Songbirds Publishing House, March 2019), the samurai (Yellow Arrowing Publishing, October 2020), Follow the Black Raven (Alien Buddha Publishing, July 2021), Unleashing the Archers (Guerilla Genesis Press, August 2021), Hecate’s Child (Alien Buddha Publishing, November 2021) and fat & pretty (Dancing Girl Press, June 2022). She’s also written three micro-chapbooks: Heaven Instead (Origami Poems Project, May 2018), moon mother (Origami Poems Project, March 2020), and & so I believe (Origami Poems Project, April 2021). She is also the author of the novella Mates (Alien Buddha Publishing, March 2022).

Dreamers May, poem by Yoli Ramazzina

DREAMERS MAY
by Yoli Ramazzina

Dreamers may saunter, wandering by
With a seemingly far-off look in their eye.

Dreamers may smile as they gaze afar
Their eyes locked upon a twinkling star.
Dreamers may delight in each drop of rain
Slowly rolling down, landing on the windowpane.
Dreamers may bask in the warm, brilliant sun
Neglecting their chores that need to be done.

Dreamers may curl up, retreating inside
Of their own heads, and then they may ride…
A bright wave of rainbows, that blasts them to space
Dreamers may linger in their happy place.
Dreamers may jump, or they may do a dance
Unfazed by logic, and driven by chance.

Dreamers may, with their arms outstretched, reach for the stars
As they contemplate living on Saturn or Mars.
Dreamers have hope.
They have faith.
They believe.
Dreamers also feel sorrow, and shed tears when they grieve.

Dreamers may misstep, they may fall or have slips
Yet they cherish the stardust on their fingertips.
Dreamers see beauty in every detail
From the glow of the moon, to the shell of a snail.
Dreamers get lost in books, words pull them under
Dreamers hearts nearly burst, overflowing with wonder.

Dreamers paint pictures and dreamers tell tales
Dreamers put wind in a ship’s empty sails.
Dreamers may soar far beyond these blue skies
Dreamers may sometimes appear very wise.

Dreamers are many things,
So much more than they seem
Because they have courage.
The courage to dream.

PAINTING: “The Dreamer Overwhelming Beauty” by Maria Pace-Wynters. Visit the artist at etsy, wordpress, twitter,  pinterest, and dailypainters.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Yoli Ramazzina was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley (818!), but now resides in Long Beach, California. She is a music lover and a retired KXLU deejay. A certified yoga instructor, she enjoys teaching Kids Yoga as well as Yoga Basics and Vinyasa Flow at local studios in her community. In her free time, she enjoys practicing yoga, reading, gardening, listening to music, drinking good beer, and most of all spending time with her husband, son, and their two rescued pups, Nom-Nom and Lucy. You can find Yoli on tumblr or on Facebook.

Courage and Georgia O’Keeffe

“To create one’s world in any of the arts takes courage.”  GEORGIA O’KEEFFE

Painting: “Sunrise” (watercolor, 1916) by Georgia O’Keeffe