Leah Oviedo

Leah Oviedo Dec 2018

Your essence is a beauty that feeds the souls of others
As important as any one, any group, any power
More than skin and bones, more than words and actions
A whole being with unexplored possibilities
Unstoppable strength
Unknown growth
What will you do with that essence
In each day of your life

Feeling inspired

#new #year #essence

Oct 2018

lionness

fast life

in the neon lights
in the damp city smog
on a cold december midnight
watching snowflakes dissolve

we wore a glow of newness
we were the first of our kind
adam and eve
god's finest creation
lost in our paradise
eating forbidden fruits
drunk on sin and wonder

"this can't end well.
we do it nonetheless."

#city #drugs #nightlife

Leah Oviedo Oct 2018

Wake Up

When that sliver of daybreak tugs at your eyes
Wake up to unexplored possibilities
Stretch your body in gratitude
Embrace the gift of a new day
Open your heart to a compassionate view
Welcome the sun as she rises for you
Ground into this world and listen for what you need
There is work to be done
In the streets and in your own heart
Start from the root

This is the first poem in 'Start From The Root', my recently published book of illustrations and poetry. After a year of polishing this book, I'm excited to have completed this goal. I have been writing poetry for most of my life, but only seriously in the past four years. After several people I loved died in just a few years, I began to write poetry as a way to heal. It has been some of the best medicine.

#mornings #new #day #rejuvenate #daybreak #sunrise #the #root

Leah Oviedo Aug 2018

You Just Need To...

It's not that you have to be perfect and brand new
You aren't a smart phone
It's not that you have to be loved by everyone
You don't exist on a pedestal
It's not that you need to be shiny and look good
You aren't a diamond ring
It's not that you need to be smooth and spotless
You aren't glass
It's just that you need to love yourself as much as you love those things.

For all of us who spend our precious time trying to be as good as those we idolize. Please, just relax and let go of all ideas of who you should be. Embrace who you are. (unless you are a serial killer, in that case, please stop embracing that side of you).

#love #you #embrace #self #care #beautiful #perfect #diamond #spotless

Leah Oviedo Aug 2018

A Spark

Today, I hope you realize how much you are loved
And it sets off a spark inside of you that burns brighter each minute
A spark that turns into a fiery warmth from the inside out to warm your hands and melt your pain into a wax candle of memories
A fiery warmth that never goes out
Not even when floodwaters rise to your chest
Today, I hope you realize how much you are loved.

I wrote this for my friends who feel so unworthy, suicide feels like an option. I love them and they are so fantastic, but they can't believe it.

#depression #sad #loved #spark #fiery #pain #today #hope #love #suicide

Leah Oviedo Jul 2018

Death

Dark nights, dark days, a broken heart stuck in bleak flurries of heat and muck
Grief pinches my throat, binds my wrists, pelts me with memories and what if's.
My eyes are glazed with blurry tears, my mind torn apart by deathly fears.
I cry and I cry and I cry

#grief #sad #death #cry #grieving

Leah Oviedo Jul 2018

Release

I tried forgiveness
Not to let them off the hook
But to taste sweetness again
I learned to create water
To put out that angry fire
When it returns, compassion dances in my dreams
A lightness to comfort my hungry heart

#forgiveness #release #therapy #recovery #compassion #heart