With the Old and the New

Goodbye 2015, here is a post to consider on the way out!


This 1

Blackbird
Bluest Eye
Bone straight hair
Skinny thigh
This is not I
This is part I
This in part I
This impart I
Winged creature fly
Dragon
Fly
Dragonfly
This is I
This is why

One of the good parts of 2015 - one of the lessons...

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 This 2

This is the time

To sit, to sip

To look, to listen

This is the space

For pondering, for dancing

For writing, for singing

This is the joy

Loving, giving

Hoping, living

This is the work

The owning, the learning

The changing, the earning

Thank you for the trip 2015!

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With words, song & prayer
Tiffany V

Hearing the Voice of the Heart

Wishing you all the Happiest of Holidays, here's a Saturday Post!

I hate that man like the very gates of death who says one thing but hides another in his heart. - The Iliad

Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks... - The Bible

The holiday season is a great time to consider the rain and the symbol of cleansing that comes with it. Let's consider expelling the poison that may be within us. Let's consider that we all are fragile in the snow with no cover. Let's consider we often pretend to be Hercules, when really we are Tiny Tim without the crutch.

"...She has them believing that poor old ape with the twisted foot is a satyr. Illusions, deceptions, mirages!" - The Last Unicorn

Considering the idea of authenticity, it makes me wonder how many people don't know what is actually in their own hearts. And because they don't investigate, they act contrary to their own soul on a detrimentally regular basis.

I was that person, I worked for and with that person. I dated that person. Once I punched that person in the gut - but I was nine, and have learned telling someone the truth can be WAY more fulfilling (or devastating) that physical violence.

This morning as I was preparing this post, I received an email from someone in high school. He wasn't my favorite person. But he said he saw in me a beautiful soul. I thought that (at that time in my life) I couldn't be my own self. I had to wear the multi-socks, the cross gear-- be this thing that really couldn't explain me or be explained by me. I, like him, did stupid things in that time, but don't we all?

His regret for who he was makes me think that he, sometime in the not too recent past, saw his heart (or maybe I'm just being an artistic chick about it). Referring to the first two quotes, my point is whether your heart is hidden by your performance of self or worn on your sleeve, it will speak. Will I hear it in the midst of my spinning? Will you listen when it says something? Will we do the work?

Peter Beagle via Schmendrick the magician said, "It is a rare man who is taken for what he truly is." I use to think he said, "It is a rare man mistaken for who he truly is." I don't know whose phrase I like better, haha.

Your cross is not mine to bear. Neither is mine yours. Love, when true, can hurt like the deepest torture dungeon in hell. It can also put gold in your wings and bear you up to the stars. It takes bravery to engage and begin. So (in my best Samuel L. Jackson voice) the question remains -

"What's in your [heart]?

I'm such a goofball.

Merry Christmas,
Tiffany V

Pme and Qme in conversation

P.S. Did you read the latest review for Ugly Drawers, Pretty Panties? If not click here!

Be sure to order your copies before Christmas so your friends can get their gifts on time!

Thank Rafiki

Hey y'all! Happy Saturday! Here's a post for ya.

How this...

© November 2015 - Thanks Rafiki

turned into this...

© November 2015 - That Turkey is Smokin'

tells me that God is real, and that the Lion King Turkey Blessing works!

Seriously, I thank you all for the amazing support and love throughout the year.

2015 has been a year of reaping. 

Some things bloomed beautiful,

some things passed on,

and many things went

into a new phase.

A word of caution,

and a promise

none of us gets out of this alive

So enjoy the turkey

and run this race to win

With words, song & prayer
Tiffany V

Close to the Air

Happy Saturday Post!

Pushing up
Two centimeters 
Until the air
Not drowning
Is the same
As growing
From underground up
You have to do it
Or you'll die
And it is
Hard to do
But needful
Essential
Vital

Push.

A happy workday beginning -- © 2015 Tiffany V.

A Word with You Press' most current contest authors are anonymous. Try it. Just click here.

With words, song & prayer,
TiMo V

Yours Truly, Summer 2011
© Tiffany V.

Choosing

On Bonnie and Dan's Wedding Day - Here's a Saturday Post!

For Boba and Darth

I choose to nerd out

Get the word out

And I am not ashamed

I will sing and cry with joy

No plots or ploys

Only love to blame

I choose my friends who love me

Who envelope me

In their gracious arms

And while we sing the Star Wars main theme

She marries the man of her dreams

Right there on the front lawn

Love you, Bonnie - Congratulations!

You found the droid you were looking for!

In transit

From Ugly Drawers, Pretty Panties

On your mark, get set, GO
Where though
A pioneer through life's paths
A journey from here to eternity
A wanderer through the wonder of the simplest moments
I am in transit
I am not easily surprised, but life has a way of shutting me up
The more I learn, the more I see,the more I wish for simple songs and writing
The less I want to talk, the more I want to ask
What do you want to learn from your life?
What do you want to teach through your experiences?
What do you want your legacy to be?
Let's transit together and share the load
Let's converse about our wonder-wanders
And save each other time and trial
Learning to lean, learning to bow, learning to pray
As we travel from death to life
Let's enjoy the story
Show me your battle scars and I'll show you mine
From the past, when we were stupid
Yes, even five seconds ago
I am tired of my ears being tickled
We are moving from ignorance to wisdom
Through trial and text and a multitude of counsel
I want to go hard after life and excellence
So that when I am old my age will speak wisdom
I will tell my younger ones from experiences
And so I go, and I will bring stories in transit

Inspired by the phrase II
From Ugly Drawers, Pretty Panties

"Danger is very real, but fear is a choice." - Will Smith, After Earth
I will say it
I will give no quarter to the lie
The bind
The one that says I must say less
Give less
Be less
Because it scares you
(and by the way, if you ain't "you", then don't take ownership)
I will give it
I will open my heart to the sunshine
The freedom
The joy
Even in a moment
(and by the way, if you've been there with me, cool)
I will feel it
I will wear the full armor
Not apologizing
Not compromising
Accepting everything that I am to you, with you, for you
(All the many "you's" out there)
I will choose
Choose life
Choose me
Choose faith in the promise
I will be the fearless one I once tried not to be because of you
(Though I thank you for the trip)
I will change
I am a shifting rhythm
In the poem of life
In the life of a poem
And I am not written by you
(Though I have been edited by "you" from time to time)

Choosing

On the off chance that you can change for the better

Choose to

On the off chance you can get the spirit and not the letter

Choose to

I sometimes have difficulty

Letting pain back in to hurt me

Forgiving is a daily duty

But I choose to

This one is not finished...

With words, song & prayer
TiMo V

Theme & Variations from UDPPBook

Poetry in the morning. How sweet it is.

© 2015 Tiffany Vakilian

Thinking about my Goddard peeps and the poetry that they inspired in me.

I've heard it said

A great many things about

Dynamic duos

Complimentary opposites

The dance and not the battle

Heard that last week

In and out

Red and blue

Blue and grey

Yin and yang

Yanantin and masintin

Partners in a samba

Can they dance alone?

Can I?

On the dance floor called corpus callosum

The moonlight and shadow

One orb

The storyteller and the administrative assistant

Breathing

Both directions are necessary

For life

Body

Hands feet

Left side right side

Seen unseen

Wolf wife

That’s for Clarissa

Who started this whole conversation

Without even knowing I existed

Or perhaps

It was Tannen

She said it is communication

That can destruct meaning

Goffman's impressions

Given and given off

Gilligan’s pleasure

Relationship for relationships

And all the stories in between

And around

And throughout

Can they dance alone?

Can I?

Thanks Anne

For your friend Kitty

Imaginary and real

Realized

Shange's choreo-poem

Embodiment?

The dance of communication

Or beauty

Or therapy

A mushroom, Alice

Eat it

One side makes you bigger

And the other...

Otherizing

Let's bring in Pme and Qme

Honne and Tatamae

There I am

In the conversation

Of duality

Recognizing and engaging

Via dual-expression

Write it

Then say it

No

Say it

THEN write it

One feeds the other better in this way

This way that way

Light shadow

Felt sense felt senses

Hearing with ears

Our words

Our woman-self words

Can they dance alone?

Can I?

Front self Pme

Meta-self Qme

Winding a winding road

To knowing

To gnowing

Knowing and gnowing

Oracle and Architect

Archetypes

Popular culture

Myth story

Can they dance alone?

Can I?

With words, song & prayer,

TiMo

The Great Duality

Happy Saturday to you! Here's your Saturday Post!

I dreamt this week that I was surrounded by deep water, but my living situation was a high hill with many buildings (think Minas Tirith in the Pacific). My view was sometimes from under the water, and sometimes from a middle place looking down. Family and certain friends were there, and I was teaching. I'm not yet at an age when grandchildren run about my legs, but I feel like it is always going to come down to that balance of duality; not undecided, but with singularity of purpose.

This fountain in me seems full
Grace
Truth
Christian
Pharisee
Family
Business
Pme
Qme

This journey is me feels forked
Heaven
Hell
Acceptance
Rejection
Paul
Peter
Joy
Dejection

I seek purification within and without
Heart
Life
Maturity
Childishness
Wings
Weights
Love
Indifference

I run this race to win
Get up
Go on
Learn
Unlearn
Build up
Take down
Win
Burn

The natural tendency is to choose one side
But I have
Can't you see
Hidden
In plain sight
Complicated
Simplicity
My shadows
Prove a light

When I lived on the East Coast, I told my older brother I was vacillating between staying and moving back to CA. He told me, "once you make the decision you'll have peace". It took about a year before I moved back, but from the point of choice, both options worked toward my goal. I was so scared for so long that people would beat me down for saying out loud the things I say, as if it were about me. I've been told this week, "Do you have any idea how strong you are; and how intimidating that is?" Would it were not so.

I'm human; cuts hurt. I am a phoenix too; only in Christ. I've been given a "talent", and I am duty-bound NOT to bury it, but to make it bear fruit. I was told by a pastor in Virginia, "you have kingdoms in you..." and that is one of the things that have driven me to write poetry, stories, emails, blog posts, dreams... It makes room, like an overfull vessel being emptied (and the relief is sublime).

It is not about me, no matter how I benefit.

With words, song and prayer
TiMo V

Brave Enough to Share

Workin' that work and sharing my Saturday Post! Enjoy!

My friend told me today that she and her husband sat together and read one of my poems. She said they cried together in the reading. I told her I just wanted to tell the truth. That's why I write.

They even made a comment about My Violin of an Armpit. I am going to read it this evening.

I was interviewed by A Word With You Press for the Author Spotlight and I'd like to share that with you today.

My book launch party is in a few hours, and I'm so busy getting ready for it, I can't even be nervous about it. But those feelings will come. And I may write about them. Sometimes it hurts to tell what I'm seeing, doing, learning, or becoming. But that is the work. And I am humbled by the people who are brave enough to share their words with me. They inspire me to do more. So thank you all (song writers, poets, rappers, friends, etc.) for giving me the strength to tell my own story.

With words, song & prayer,
TiMo

Yours Truly, Summer 2011
© Tiffany Monique

AWWYP Author Spotlight- Tiffany Vakilian!!!

As part of our ongoing series interviewing writers , authors and poets in the AWwYP stable, we’d like to highlight Tiffany Vakilian. Read on about her practice of writing (and singing) and about what grounds finding your voice.

You can read my interview HERE

With words, song & prayer,
TiMo

Yours Truly, Summer 2011
© Tiffany Monique

Tiffany Vakilian Joins BookDaily.com

Vista, CA August 18, 2015  BookDaily.com is pleased to announce that Tiffany Vakilian will be featured on the popular book sampling site – joining the ranks of the most famous authors in the world.

As a featured author, the first poems of Vakilian's books are now available to thousands of readers to sample – free of charge. At BookDaily, book fans can browse, search and read first chapters from a selection of more than 80,000 titles.

Vakilian is currently promoting Ugly Drawers, Pretty Panties a Black American book of Poetry published by A Word With You Press. Visit Vakilian’s website at www.tiffanyvakilian.com and their BookDaily page as well http://www.bookdaily.com/author/2389716/tiffany-vakilian.

Like many other authors, Vakilian is making use of the quick and easy tools BookDaily offers for writers to market their books.

Launched in May 2009, BookDaily has rapidly become the leading source of book samples by email. More than 10 million sample chapters have been distributed through BookDaily.com and through the site’s email subscriptions.  The site is a division of ArcaMax Publishing, the leader in consumer news and entertainment by email.

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For information about A Word With You Press, please contact 760-500-5409. For media inquiries, please contact A Word With You Press at Thorn@AWordWithYouPress.com.