What comes first the color orange or the fruit? For me orange is a symbol I seek every day. I have a saying, “Orange will rise in the poem Orange.” It symbolizes hope, positivity and progress each day. I’ve always considered the glass half full because we choose our perceptions.
“In life and business, don’t let your failures keep you down, fail better each time until you succeed.” This is my motto. In my humble beginnings, I was a simple poet learning how to perform in Providence on Thayer Street. One time I failed so badly at a performance that I was banned for a few weeks. I didn’t understand the power of words. The importance of how to wield them properly and the effects they actually had. I learned some of my most important lessons through failure.
Before I started “Tell your Truth” open mic, I failed over three times to run an open mic. Each time I learned something new; one lesson I learned is location is everything. Sometimes these lessons created a deep sense of urgency; one time a venue changed negotiations at the last minute so that night I walked venue to venue trying to find a new one that night. Sometimes settling isn’t what you’re looking for, which means changing strategies.
Poetry has been underground — hidden from the public light. Poets tend to be the pioneers unsung. The foundations written onto the backside of history. Sometimes we are simply songwriters behind your favorite song. Shakespearean sonnets and powerful monologues. In fact we are embedded into almost every historical frame and language written. Words spoken since ancient in tongues unknown.
When my career as a poet started, it brought so many doubters. They didn’t realize I had so many leaders before me who paved the way. What the doubters deemed impossible was already achievable as long as I didn’t doubt myself. If you have doubted yourself and your dreams, take some time to reflect, change strategies and double down on following your dreams.
Many times I found that I have not dreamed big enough. Many times reality’s path brought me to places where I needed to learn something new, challenge myself mentally and grow as a person to meet that challenge. Now after enduring the “No’s” I’ve been accepted as the poetry curator for Motif, received a grant from RISCA, and I’m the poet in residence for multiple organizations. My goal with my future articles is to show you artists, poets, spoken word kings & queens who rise beyond the call. Showing those who are always there; ever present like the rising sun. Orange will rise.
