Wild Embers: Poems of rebellion, fire and beauty
Title:: Wild Embers: Poems of rebellion, fire and beauty
Year:: 2017
Author:: Gill, Nikita
Genre::
Rating:: 5
date finished:: 2017-11-16
Important work of art
I think your soul is a river still touches me deeper, but many of the poems in this collection feel so important right now. I think I'll only realise how important on second reading.
Highlights
Miracle It took 3.8 billion years of triumphant evolution, remarkable collision, an unbelievable confluence made by sheer will and influence of this infinite universe and all of the stars to get you here. I hope you never doubt again that even when you are in pain, that you are a miracle, that every part of you is incredible. — location: 142
I hope you never doubt again that even when you are in pain, that you are a miracle, that every part of you is incredible. — location: 147
The Sun and the Moon Aim for a love that reminds you of the devotion the sun has to the moon. Whether she is in fractions or she is whole, he still shrouds his intense light in the darkness of the night. To give her the entire sky, without judgement, so she can shine in any way she wants to. You deserve someone who adores you on the days you are in broken fragments too. You deserve someone who lets you glow in every way you need to. — location: 234
You deserve someone who lets you glow in every way you need to. — location: 244
Ghosts of the person you used to be are so proud of who you are, they live on inside you applauding you for living on despite your scars. — location: 334
Untitled II The greatest magic you have is the courage you go digging for, when your world falls apart, the light you still hold, when everything has grown dark. — location: 364
Conjuring There is a conjuring within us all a whisper in the air a call to arms like an incantation or the beginning of the kind of storm that brings about change, transformation. Some call it sisterhood, Some call it Feminism But another word for this paradigm shift is simply called revolution. — location: 491
Learned Helplessness They call it ‘learned helplessness’ finally a phrase after years of study to explain why we stay in hopelessness with men who leave our faces bloody; why we ‘let’ the cruel fists of a man determined to turn our bodies into a purple storm that began and ended with fingers that disembody our self respect, our courage in that moment, we forget we are somebody. There is a hierarchy to his chaos that one learns to simply accept. There is a beginning to his madness that one knows will eventually end. So like those caged animals they outlawed in circuses, you let the ringmaster be tyrannical even as your soul winces. Years from now, they will ask you ‘Why didn’t you leave him?’ Because, you will say quietly, he had convinced me I was no longer human. — location: 522
Graveyards and Gardens There are graveyards inside you made of people that made you ache, made of memories that you barely survived made of trauma and heartbreak. These graveyards need to become gardens where you plant flowers that blossom, for you to let go. — location: 556
Forgiveness Forgive yourself for everything you broke when you were trying to survive. Let the rain wash away your regret. Let your blood cool from the rage you feel against yourself. Let the rivers under your skin bring you home. To heal you must forgive your heart, your skin, your body all of their mistakes. — location: 594
Untitled III Fairytales exist. They always have. We just have to rewrite them over and over again till they fit. — location: 693
The Truth about Art People don’t look at art because it’s perfect. People look at art because it’s extraordinary, strange, different, captivating, odd, unusual, they look at it because it stands out. Some artwork is so entrancing, people spend hours looking at it and in awe of its strangeness. Sometimes entire rooms are dedicated to one masterpiece so it is given its proper glory. Perfection is boring. It is stereotypical. It blends together and it’s easily forgotten. What I’m trying to say is, You can strive to be perfect. Or you can strive to be art. — location: 920
Weathered The cliffs may seem magnificent. But the truth is the cliffs are only there because the sea has whittled them down over time, the water weathering and wearing against the rock. From this, I learned that no matter how large my problems are, or how big they seem, if I work on them every single day eventually they too will be worn as can be. — location: 944
Artemis Girls like Artemis are made of volcanoes and earthquakes, everything that scares people and the world can’t handle. They were made for beautiful things, for bigger things. So when people try to put them in a box, try to turn them into something they can understand, girls like Artemis simply fight harder. You see, no matter how much you tell a girl like Artemis to be a lady, to stop her eternal hunt, to understand that the moon is not her true lover, that the way she dresses is not appropriate, she will do exactly how she pleases. Nothing ties her down to the kind of earth you have come from. Nothing makes her want to be less adventurous or give up her eternal search for something to quench her wanderlust. She is different and she wears her individuality on her worn jacket, the one her mother has tried to throw away countless times but always comes back, her eyes always hunting for something more beautiful than the moment before her right now. She has been hurt before, but always, always has found her way back from the pain. You see, her heart was born a wolf. If anyone has tried to break it with their callousness, it has always gone for their throat. — location: 1025
Self Care Sometimes the people you love the most are the ones that will cause you the most pain. And you will forgive them and continue to have them in your life. This does not make your pain invalid. This does not mean you should allow them to ignore it. This does not mean they are allowed to hurt you again. Continuing to trust someone who was the reason behind your hurt is no reason to allow them to hurt you the same way again. No matter how much they apologise and say they will change. No matter how much they try to guilt you and place blame. No matter how often they call you selfish for not forgiving them yet again. This is the meaning of self care. This is the meaning of self preservation. And you are never wrong to practice it. — location: 1127