because she knows
all of your 5am secretsand your sheets who get to touch
every part of you as you fall asleep
while i keep a close eye on this empty pillow
waiting for your weight to keep it warmbut the sun,
he is luckiest of all.
when you’re half asleep, groggy
and painfully unaware of how
beautiful you look
he kisses your lips with light
Loving this, this am
I want you to tell me about every person you’ve ever been in love with.
Tell me why you loved them,
then tell me why they loved you.
Tell me about a day in your life you didn’t think you’d live through.
Tell me what the word home means to you
and tell me in a way that I’ll know your mother’s name
just by the way you describe your bedroom
when you were eight.
See, I want to know the first time you felt the weight of hate,
and if that day still trembles beneath your bones.
Do you prefer to play in puddles of rain
or bounce in the bellies of snow?
And if you were to build a snowman,
would you rip two branches from a tree to build your snowman arms
or would leave your snowman armless
for the sake of being harmless to the tree?
And if you would,
would you notice how that tree weeps for you
because your snowman has no arms to hug you
every time you kiss him on the cheek?
Do you kiss your friends on the cheek?
Do you sleep beside them when they’re sad
even if it makes your lover mad?
Do you think that anger is a sincere emotion
or just the timid motion of a fragile heart trying to beat away its pain?
See, I wanna know what you think of your first name,
and if you often lie awake at night and imagine your mother’s joy
when she spoke it for the very first time.
I want you to tell me all the ways you’ve been unkind.
Tell me all the ways you’ve been cruel.
Tell me, knowing I often picture Gandhi at ten years old
beating up little boys at school.
If you were walking by a chemical plant
where smokestacks were filling the sky with dark black clouds
would you holler “Poison! Poison! Poison!” really loud
or would you whisper
“That cloud looks like a fish,
and that cloud looks like a fairy!”
Do you believe that Mary was really a virgin?
Do you believe that Moses really parted the sea?
And if you don’t believe in miracles, tell me —
how would you explain the miracle of my life to me?
See, I wanna know if you believe in any god
or if you believe in many gods
or better yet
what gods believe in you.
And for all the times that you’ve knelt before the temple of yourself,
have the prayers you asked come true?
And if they didn’t, did you feel denied?
And if you felt denied,
denied by who?
I wanna know what you see when you look in the mirror
on a day you’re feeling good.
I wanna know what you see when you look in the mirror
on a day you’re feeling bad.
I wanna know the first person who taught you your beauty
could ever be reflected on a lousy piece of glass.
If you ever reach enlightenment
will you remember how to laugh?
Have you ever been a song?
Would you think less of me
if I told you I’ve lived my entire life a little off-key?
And I’m not nearly as smart as my poetry
I just plagiarize the thoughts of the people around me
who have learned the wisdom of silence.
Do you believe that concrete perpetuates violence?
And if you do —
I want you to tell me of a meadow
where my skateboard will soar.
See, I wanna know more than what you do for a living.
I wanna know how much of your life you spend just giving,
and if you love yourself enough to also receive sometimes.
I wanna know if you bleed sometimes
from other people’s wounds,
and if you dream sometimes
that this life is just a balloon —
that if you wanted to, you could pop,
but you never would
‘cause you’d never want it to stop.
If a tree fell in the forest
and you were the only one there to hear —
if its fall to the ground didn’t make a sound,
would you panic in fear that you didn’t exist,
or would you bask in the bliss of your nothingness?
And lastly, let me ask you this:
If you and I went for a walk
and the entire walk, we didn’t talk —
do you think eventually, we’d… kiss?
No, wait.
That’s asking too much —
after all,
this is only our first date.
This is mesmerizing
My parents divorced when I was 7. It was back when 50% of couples weren’t getting divorced. My mom worried my childhood friend’s parents would no longer allow their kids to hang out with me. My mom says it was the hardest thing she’s ever been through, comparing it to her Nana dying. From an early age she told me people were going to judge our family because our mom was pulling double duty. Consequently, that conversation has affected almost everything I have done.
I never wanted to create a problem for my mom. I did my homework and made good grades. I was the first person in my family to graduate college. I chose a job that I not only love, but allows my mom to brag about me (and brag she does, so sorry if you are ever on the receiving end of that!) Every success I have, I credit my mom. She worked multiple jobs to provide for us. She would do anything for my brother and I and she pulled double duty. Thank God my mom is amazing enough to be both a mom and dad. As I get older, I appreciate her more and more. To all parents who are doing it alone, thank you! It isn’t going unnoticed. You are appreciated and it may take awhile to hear a thank you from your kiddos, but it will happen. To my mom, if I can be a quarter of the mom you are, my kids are going to turn out alright. Thank you for all the sacrifices you have made.
I was so fortunate to have the chance to meet the third grade class at Woodland Christian school. Their teacher has really set up a neat thing in the classroom, using a fun idea of running their own business to teach the kids real life lessons and math. It always amazes me when teachers do things like this. As if their job isn’t hard enough, they take the time and energy to think of something fun for kids to do, that also incorporates learning.
I’m sure must of us can think of one teacher who really touched our lives. I bet that teacher went above and beyond. Next Friday, I’m fortunate enough to emcee a crab feed at my old elementary school. My 4, 5, and 6th grade teacher was the same woman, Miss Anderson. She really instilled in me that I could be anything I wanted to be! She definitely went above and beyond and I’m so lucky that I can now give back to the school and teacher that gave me so much.
Mrs. Geer says her students always remember learning to run their own business. One of the girls in her class told me she wants to be on TV everyday. It was an amazing feeling to tell her she could one day do this too. And I bet Mrs. Geer will be encouraging her every step of the way.
Check out my Instagram for a picture of my photographer Manny getting his nails painted by one of the “nail salon” businesses. Too cute and such a rewarding story!
<script type=’text/javascript’ src=’http://CBSSAC.images.worldnow.com/interface/js/WNVideo.js?rnd=858689320;hostDomain=video.sacramento.cbslocal.com;playerWidth=310;playerHeight=232;isShowIcon=true;clipId=8557006;flvUri=;partnerclipid=;adTag=News;advertisingZone=CBS.SAC%252Fmobile;enableAds=true;landingPage=;islandingPageoverride=;playerType=STANDARD_EMBEDDEDscript;controlsType=fixed’>
Check out her quotes.
I remember doing a story in Bakersfield about an 8 year old girl, who was raped and left to die by her father, the night before her 9th birthday. She was found in a field by a construction worker, still alive thank God. I went on vacation the next day and I remember repeatedly calling my photographer asking him why the dad would do something like that? He told me sometimes we won’t get the answer to that all important question of why.
Now two years later, here in Sacramento, we are covering a similar story, this time with a tragic ending. A 9 year old boy was killed by his dad, using a hatchet. It’s heartbreaking and sad and was so difficult to report on. The 9 year old has a 12 year brother and all I could think about is what I would do if my brother was killed. It would be terrible, but what about if it was a family member who did it? Our dad?
A lot of times in this business, people say we’re desensitized. We aren’t. Some stories just hit home more than others. I wished I could call my brother today and tell him how much I love him, but I have to settle for email, because he’s in the Navy and deployed right now. I passed the story off to another reporter and we talked later about how terrible this was and just unbelievable. We are all still wondering why? And it pains me that we may never have that answer.
http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/video?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=8506222
So this is part two of my interview with Clinton Kelly. I wore a trash bag for the first part, and then let him take a look at my outfit and critique it. I had no idea we would be discussing my chest or hips…it turned out interesting!
I was so excited to interview Clinton Kelly. I’ve never been one of those people who gets crazy about celebrities, but he is just a wealth of information and I was so excited for all his tips and to start thinking about what new things I should buy! Everyone keeps asking what he was like in person, and I promise you, what you see on TV is what you get. He was extremely nice and very personal. Plus, he was too funny about me wearing a trash bag!
Button Theme
