Poem: My childhood reflection

A collaborative edition with Polina Kouzminova.

Previews:

This is our first collaborative edition, and are pleased to work with Polina. As always, we are passionate about picking out the tallest quality content for you every Saturday of the week. We’ve had 120 new people join us from Europe and Africa, and we were recommended by 8 other newsletters.

This edition carries a members only Valentine’s $50 in total reward; more info is underneath.

Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming our guests. Polina Kouzminova Proskurina was born in Siberia and grew up in New Zealand.  She is the author of a poetry collection, An Echo Where You Lie (Mākaro Press), and a memoir, My Little Ship, Forever at Sea (Austin Macauley Publishers). 

Her writing explores a meditation on everyday human experience, interwoven with the magic of being alive while contemplating departures, exits and endings.  She is currently writing a fiction novel on human connections and what it means to be human in a world that is forever trying to trick you.  She lives in Auckland, New Zealand, with her husband, growing a garden. Click this link to find Polina on Instagram.

Starting…

By Polina, titled: Impassive!

Finally, you will love everything.

A departure from the ordinary vector.

The trollies with children under sunlight,
where the thickness of a single black wire
swings from left to right.

The home, you know, that went wild.

His fingers rummaged across other bodies,
while tenderness from a stranger 
becomes an unrequited occurrence.

Late-night calls from your mother
to check if there’s enough milk
in your fridge.  Like that matters.

That everything matters.

The way you will stand before the storm
knowingly, when it comes.

The upturn of humanity as a sigh.

Finally, you will love all this.

This poem below is a three edged-sword; it took me to a time of childhood and what it feels like to be the receiving end of correction. I don’t know if there’s anyone out there who can relate because, many times, as kids, we had no way to speak our minds.

It was at school, home, small jobs and a combination for some people.

By Tobi, titled: Childhood reflection!

Verse 1:

Bring me a closed mouth,
That my cry will not come out.
When the ocean wants to roar, tame it.
Two can’t shout, and both enjoy it, 
except the combination of a rod and flat surface causing a dig.

In the case of a child being corrected with a cane,
Three are in pain.

The gripping hand says, why all this?
The cane says, why all this?
The child says, why all this? 
Why are you not understanding me?
My way is different.
I’m trying to figure it out.
Why must mistakes come with consequences?
Why all this? The three trumpets are in accordance.

Verse 2: 

What is a mistake? Can you teach me?
Can you bring together a manuscript of the wrong,
So that I know all I do will be correct. 
Not a question mark.

But power is for the weak,
The strong really don’t want it.

The cane is powerful yet weak.
Words are weak and yet powerful.

When I am weak, give me softly.
Powerful to powerful.
But don’t kill me with powerful, 
when I have no strength.

$50 Valentine Rewards section

This week, we are giving out $50 in total.

To win part of the valentine’s reward, simply share your thoughts on both poems in the comments below. Be sure to include the title of the poem you're commenting on and explain what it means to you and how it made you feel. The most insightful and thought-provoking comment will be selected and contacted as follows:

Day 1: Monday 13th: $15 to one person, announced on social media.

Day 2: Tuesday 14th: $15 to one person, announced on social media.

Day 3: Thursday 16th: $20 to the comment with highest number of likes, announced on social media.

You are also encouraged to invite friends to like and engage with your comment since it may show how community members resonate with you.