Be Free

I've been writing poetry since I was about 8. I didn't perform a piece until I was 22. It was my senior year of college. I think it was a few years after that when I started referring to myself as a poet.

When I wrote my first book, I wasn't trying to go anywhere with it. I wasn't planning a second one, certainly not a blog or a third and fourth. I didn't think of what I had as a gift; writing was just something I did because I couldn't not do it. And, still, I struggle with the title author, as true as it is.

The writing was already free. I was the one who hadn't gotten the news.

It doesn't miss me this Juneteenth, that those slaves in Texas experienced a similar phenomenon. That they thought their salvation hadn't caught up to them yet, but all along they were free, indeed. I'm sure even after discovering the truth, it took their brains and bodies a while to catch up and feel the release that comes with believing you're free... or believing anything about yourself.

The foundation of Christianity is that, unlike other religions, we don't have to work to be saved. We simply have to believe and trust that the hard work has been done for us. Those slaves didn't know what had already been declared for them. And some of us are still moving through our gifts the same way.

My leap from developmental editing 6 books has jumped to 10 in the past two months. The four books I'm working on each hold years and years of experience, reflection, lessons, and gifts the world needs. And each author wrestles with the timing, the completeness, the audience, the writing. They all struggle to step into what they know is real — their life, thoughts, and work on paper.

But it is real. If that feels like you, consider this your Galveston.

Be free.

Your story is already written in you. Let's get it on the page. Work with me.