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December Poetry Challenge: 2022

This was my response to prompt #26 : How has your life changed in the past year

it’s been one of the best years of my life

2022 blessed me with more joy and growth than I could have dreamed of
I changed my narrative from a woman full of anger and resentment
to a woman full of contentment and an appreciation for everything
Unexpected and pleasant surprises filled up my year
swimming for the first time to Taylor Swift
music concerts that brought on catharsis
a spontaneous trip to my homeland where I found a stable sense of identity
and my accidental bangs in that beauty salon in Lima
I also learned to place my solitude as a priority for my recovery journey
It was the year when I stopped chasing love and unabashedly started
chasing my dreams, conquering my fears, and learning to love
the woman in the mirror
It’s been one of the best fucking years of my life
when I finally learned the meaning of gratitude and healthy love

Posted on by elizadalton · 3 Comments

December Poetry Challenge: Growth

This was my response to prompt #31: One word to describe your year

It’s hard but always well worth it

Growth was uncomfortable and made me want to crawl out of my skin
I had to acknowledge my own toxicity and take accountability
I stopped blaming my parents or exes for my sadness and angst
I held up a mirror to myself and recognized it was me holding myself back
I was the worst villain in my story and never the victim
I chose to turn this story around and confront my trauma head on,
write my demons out-embrace my self-imposed solitary confinement,
throw out my self invalidation, learn self compassion
In order to evolve into a person of value and worth
I let go of anything unhealthy and make sacrifices
by giving up my self-destructive vices
Growth could only happen in solitude and embracing radical honesty

Posted on by elizadalton · 2 Comments

December Poetry Challenge: On My Day Off

This was my response to prompt #30: The time of day you prefer

my sunday morning routine

Sunday mornings make me jump out of bed
ready to seize the fuck out of the day
First my overpriced coffee while I blast out
music in my ears and tune the world out
Write, write, write whatever crazy thing
has been lingering in my mind
then I drive to the only place
where I can get fresh bread
I stand in a line full of the local hipsters
for my gluttonous must have
rush back home where I write
and plot more blog content for next month
will there be another playlist?
more angry poetry about an ex
who screwed me over?
or am I changing the narrative
and finally being honest about my recovery
Sunday mornings are always an opportunity
for my creativity to come out in full force
without judgment, without apologies

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December Poetry Challenge: Self Improvement

This was my response to prompt #24: Your Top Priority

I am the ONE

I build the life of my dreams through discipline and hard work
while I appreciate everything I have at this moment
even the minor annoyances
and especially the moments of calm and silence
I’m no longer relegating myself to a side character
or a side chick or a passenger in my life
I’m writer, the master, the driver of the life I’m creating

Posted on by elizadalton

December Poetry Challenge: This is Your Fucking Life

This was my response to prompt #29: One thing to do

so much truth

Stop making excuses and take control over your life
no one has power over you-
stop allowing the opinions of other influence you
It’s time to stop with the bullshit and the false stories
Stop living in fear, stop living for others
this is your fucking life
the time is now to start living it authentically

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December Poetry Challenge: Celebration

This was my response to prompt #12: Something to celebrate

I’ll be celebrating with these two homegirls

Tonight I celebrate with friends, with champagne and music
We celebrate how far I’ve come and make a toast
to a future full of potential and promise
we laugh about all my past drama, dance to Taylor Swift and Yung Gravy
and cry with joy about everything good in my life
tonight is a celebration of the life I’ve work hard to build
tonight is a celebration of who I fought hard to become

Posted on by elizadalton

December Poetry Challenge: Will I Finally Understand?

This was my response to prompt #27: A book you want to read

Quote from “The Body Keeps Score”

Will “The Body Keep Score” give me the answers I need
as to why my body still feels past trauma
and why I still have nightmares about people and places
who has caused me harm?
or how when a trauma anniversary comes up
like the day I lost my baby or the day I lost my mind
my body feels extra heavy and my fists are clenched all day
Will I finally understand my body can still feel the pain of trauma
months and even years later when something catastrophic happens to me?

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December Poetry Challenge: 99.9 Percent

This is my response to prompt #15: the best kind of surprise

sometimes you have to say “fuck it”

Love surprises me with a glance, with a slight touch on my hand
And 99.9 percent of me wants to run
I don’t want to take a chance once again with my sanity
but the romantic in me say “fuck it”
maybe this will finally be a different story
one where my lover doesn’t leave

Posted on by elizadalton · 2 Comments

December Poetry Challenge: My Grown Up Reality

This is my response to prompt #14: What did you think you’d be when you grew up

me in November of this year right before the Taylor Swift dance party in town

When I imagined my happily ever after-
it never looked like my current reality
a mother of 3 with 2 jobs, on the brink of divorce,
with 5 mental health diagnosis
and yet, I stand here with contentment in my heart
and appreciation for the life I’m living
I may not have grown up to live the life I envisioned
but I’m still proud of who I’ve become

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December Poetry Challenge: De-cluttering

This is my response to prompt #16: Your favorite household chore

it’s always your responsibility

Springtime is here, it’s my favorite time of the year
I blast out music from Alexa and start de-cluttering
Anais Nin books I’ll never read go into the donation box
her life no longer inspires me
Dresses and outfits I wore to my trauma
are packed in a suitcase destined for Lima
Dozens of therapy sheets are recycled
I finally found calm and serenity
Springtime is here and it’s to get rid of everything
that no longer fits this new version of me

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December Poetry Challenge: Your Time is NOW

This was my response to prompt #21: Advice you’d give to someone else your age

shine brightly my friends

Don’t wait until you’re the perfect weight,
or you’re satisfied professionally,
or you’re swimming in wealth
learn to love yourself now,
find meaning within to be happy,
fall in love with your life
and take dozens and dozens of photos
of your newfound joy
don’t let someone’s else energy interfere
remember you are the one who determines your destiny
it’s up to you to not waste it

Posted on by elizadalton

December Poetry Challenge: A Slow Death

This is my response to prompt #10: One thing you could not give up

Don’t ask me to give up writing….EVER

You might as well do radical lobotomy
before you make me give up writing
You’d be asking me to give up
one of the things I most love–
my creativity with poetry and prose
brings me purpose and meaning on my good days
and helps me stay alive on my bad days
so if you ever ask me to give up my paper and pen
Understand you’d be asking for my slow death

Posted on by elizadalton

December Poetry Challenge: For My Starter Husband

This is my response to prompt #8:An event that turned out differently than planned

Don’t Let the Light Go Out by Panic!At the Disco—this song always makes me think of my starter husband 💔😪

We were an odd couple to start out with-
a generation apart-only 9 years younger than my dad
but we still fell in love and made it work for several years
eventually exchanged vows and rings,raised 3 beautiful kids
but we always knew we weren’t meant to be each other’s forever
at this realization-I went crazy and tried to find a new love story
but no one could stand me for long or treated me like a secret
and when all of them left, I took comfort in our friendship
understanding I needed to give respect until our legal ending
Without regrets and resentment in our unconventional love story
I’ll always love you, you will always my family

Posted on by elizadalton

December Poetry Challenge: Karma

This was my response to prompt #19: One thing you’d like to see

Quote from the movie “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”

I try to write about something positive I want to see
but today, I don’t have it in me
instead, I want to blast out my rage in verse
I try to change this narrative, but after many attempts, I fail
so today I’m going to accept how sometimes I’m a petty bitch
I can’t always be the bigger person
there’s some people I’ll never forgive
And when I think of them, petty thoughts come up
I hope Karma gets them and they suffer like I did