A new archive from Split This Rock, organizes poems by themes, issues and authors' identity.

As I began to love myself I found that anguish and emotional suffering are only warning signs that I was living against my own truth. Today, I know, this is “AUTHENTICITY”.

When I realized I couldn't answer the questions posed about two of my own poems on the Texas state assessment tests (STAAR Test), I had a flash of panic — oh, no! Not smart enough. Such a dunce.

I liked the way the words moved together carefully, unlike the jagged jumping and plunging motions of my own thoughts. The voice in the poem was calmer, more like my inner voice sounds now.

The poem was a simple but heartfelt response to my own pregnancy loss. It had been a first-trimester miscarriage, so medically and societally, it was almost a nonevent.

Faith surrounded me, inspiring my poetry. But I wanted to participate: I wanted to believe in belief, the religious kind, the God kind, and find my own way into this sacred landscape.