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~
January 2024
HP Poet: Melanii
Age: 27
Country: USA


Question 1: We welcome you to the HP Spotlight, Melanii. Please tell us about your background?

Melanii: "My real name is Arianna. I was born and raised around Dallas, TX and am currently still living here. As it relates to writing, my background draws heavily from exposure to the arts as a child and the fascination, I guess, for beauty that this instilled. My parents (but especially my dad) were enthusiastic about music, art, history, literature, and the sciences, and my interest in all of these topics was piqued by association. Growing up I can recall countless visits to the local art museum, watching documentaries in the evenings after school, attending operas with my parents, and running home after school in the early days of each month to see if the latest issue of National Geographic had arrived so I could soak up the pictures and get lost daydreaming of faraway lands and peoples.

With time these influences grew into a general interest in the humanities. I attended the University of North Texas in Denton from 2014-2017 and studied anthropology, French, and Russian after doing a 180 on my initial intention of studying and pursuing psychology as a career path at a different school. At the time it felt kind of reckless, but in hindsight it was definitely the right decision.

After graduating, I was working as a barista and somewhere along the way ended up going to Prague for a month in the summer of 2018 to do a TEFL certification, fell into poetry that fall, and then returned to Prague for 11 months in 2019 to teach English. It was very much the best and the worst of times: I met some amazing people while there, took the opportunity to travel around a bit, and lived and learned from a horrendous relationship that also transpired during that year. I definitely went into that experience without any clear objectives or expectations; looking back, life definitely took that complacency and turned the tables with it, and while it took several years afterwards for the dust to fully settle, I've made it out the other side stronger, more intentional, and more assertive than before.

Since then, life has really just been what it's been. There have been ups and downs, of course, but the lows don't hit as hard anymore. Right now, there's not much to report and I plan to keep it that way. It's nice. Peaceful. It's a new year, and with it I will continue to focus on working, saving money, making a dent in the hydra that my reading list has become, and overall just living well and building towards the future."



Question 2: How long have you been writing poetry, and for how long have you been a member of Hello Poetry?

Melanii: "As a teenager I’d scribble fragments of poems here and there, but never considered writing to be a hobby. That all changed around September 2018 when, for whatever reason, I decided that I enjoyed writing and wanted to dedicate more time to it. As mentioned in Question #2, this was right around the time I was preparing to relocate to Prague. It's kind of hard to describe; maybe it was just the excitement of the unknown, but that whole period of time had a sense of magic and beauty about the way it was unfolding which the “discovery” of poetry as a creative outlet only elevated."


Question 3: What inspires you? (In other words, how does poetry happen for you).

Melanii:  "At first, it seemed like “there was inspiration around every corner”, to quote another poet I read here on HP one time (can't remember who it was or the title of the piece, but they were describing how great poets like Bukowski seemed to find inspiration so effortlessly, and the way they phrased it has stuck with me). Fast forward five years to today, and while I don't write as prolifically anymore the words come when I have something to say.

Inspiration comes from many sources for me: music, art, and nature; random thoughts, feelings, ideas, and observations; the works of other poets; travel when it happens; disappointments in family and other relationships; loneliness…

As far as the actual writing process goes, it's pretty random. More often than not, I'd say the poems write themselves and I just jot them down once they're ready, or as they evolve and refine themselves to fruition. Not the most thoughtful approach, but it comes from the heart."



Question 4: What does poetry mean to you?

Melanii: "To me, poetry is a language — specifically a language of consciousness in its purest, most elemental form. Poetry has the ability of transcending and even defying the typical rules of language without losing cogency, and for me it's this inherent flexibility that makes it at once so unique and so impactful as an art form."


Question 5: Who are your favorite poets?

Melanii: "Federico García Lorca, Li Qingzhao, and Pablo Neruda are the top 3 names that come to mind. I enjoy the unique way that each one of them uses language and imagery to illustrate the pieces of their lives and humanity which they decided to share through their writing. There's an element of surrealism, sensuality, and expansiveness running through each of their writing styles that speaks to me in the way it encompasses the beauty and complexity of life's possibilities across good and bad times alike."


Question 6: What other interests do you have?

Melanii: "I enjoy traveling and would love to be in a place someday where I can do so more often. The urge to explore again has been gnawing at me recently, so after a little bit of research and number crunching, I renewed my passport and booked a flight to Peru for three weeks in March. I had promised myself to visit a new region the next time I traveled, and despite growing up in Texas I have yet to visit Latin America. The plan is to start in Cusco, sightsee there, then head south into Bolivia to tour the Salar de Uyuni, which has been on my bucket list since learning of its existence from National Geographic. I couldn't believe that a place like that was real, and words cannot express how excited I am to finally experience the landscape in person! With March marking the beginning of the end of the rainy season, I'm hoping to still catch some of the “mirror” effect that the salt flats are so famous for. After touring the flats, the plan is to take an overnight bus back to La Paz before heading north again towards Lima with some sightseeing stops along the way and a few days left over in the city before flying back home. So we'll see what happens!

Languages are a long standing interest as well. I studied French for 7 years between high school and college, and Russian for the 3 years I spent at university. Since graduating, I've kept up with both through podcasts, YouTube videos, news articles, and music, and despite being far from fluent in either it's helped a lot with retention and comprehension. Learning ancient Greek has also been an on-and-off endeavor since 2017 after reading Euripides’ plays and deciding that I'd like to read Medea in its original text someday. Time will tell if that ever happens, but I did recently complete an online introductory course to the language which was a nice memory refresher and helped with unpacking some of the grammatical concepts that threw me for a loop back when I first started and which are part of the reason I fell away from Greek in the first place. After Greek, I would like to learn some Coptic, Farsi, and Turkish, and would be satisfied with learning to read at least one sentence in Mandarin in my lifetime.

Outside of travel and languages, I enjoy researching and cooking dishes from various cuisines, reading, taking walks, trying out different exercise classes on days off (recently I've done tai chi, pilates, barre, aerial silks, and kickboxing, but in the past I've tried pole fitness, archery, aerial silks, cycling, and horseback riding), visiting art museums, dropping by the symphony or opera once in a blue moon, and watching videos and documentaries on philosophy, history, theology (not religious, though, just curious), and science."



Carlo C. Gomez: “Thank you so much for giving us an opportunity to get to know the person behind the poet, Melanii! We have loved adding you to this series!”

Melanii: "Thank you so much for having me and for all your efforts conducting this series of interviews! It's truly a pleasure having the opportunity to break the ice and learn more about our fellow poets."



Thank you everyone here at HP for taking the time to read this. We hope you enjoyed getting to know Melanii little bit better. I indeed did. It is our wish that these spotlights are helping everyone to further discover and appreciate their fellow poets. – Carlo C. Gomez

We will post Spotlight #12 in February!

~
 Dec 2023
Karijinbba
November 1974- 2023- Sonnet 75.

The two of us re-married
RDD=BBA JPC=ASG, we became one
my first true love and I again;
one of countless times
rddbba style.

Joy and happiness
is all we know
as we lay beneath the starry sky
One promise fulfilled at a time.

Our pain is nothing
but distant
and faint memories.

Our boundaries know
not a single enemy.
Not a single foe remains
alive.
Our friends are
a legion elites.
~~~~
By:Karijinbba
All rights
(Thanks for reading love you all friend or foe)
~~https://youtu.be/kPUxdt1FZRY?si=x9SBCfGYXB_0-Csa
𝐼 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑢𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑒
𝐼𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑚𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔
𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑠,
𝐶𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑚𝑜𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑
𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑒𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑒 𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠;
𝐹𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑚𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟'𝑠 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑣𝑒𝑖𝑙,
𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑏𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑜𝑚 𝑖𝑠 𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑡...
𝑂𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑓𝑙𝑒𝑠ℎ 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑠,
𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑏𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑜𝑚 𝑖𝑠 𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑡...
𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑒𝑦𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒
𝑊ℎ𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑏𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑠
𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑒𝑦𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒
𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑤𝑜 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑏𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑠
𝑌𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑚𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑠 𝑎
𝐽𝑎𝑠𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑟𝑢𝑏 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎 𝑙𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑒
𝐼𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑖𝑑𝑑𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑟𝑡
𝐴𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑦 𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑦𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑙 ℎ𝑎𝑖𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑑
𝐺𝑜𝑙𝑑𝑒𝑛 𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠...
𝐹𝑟𝑒𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑛𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑠;
𝑁𝑜𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑔𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒
𝐵𝑖𝑟𝑡ℎ 𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑒;
𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑏𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛𝑠 𝑏𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑛🎈
𝑇ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑦 𝐿𝑖𝑙𝑦 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑠...
𝑀𝑦 𝑜𝑣𝑎𝑟𝑦 ℎ𝑢𝑟𝑡𝑠
𝑆𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑤𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑏𝑜𝑟𝑛 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑝𝑒𝑡𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑎
𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑒𝑡𝑢𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑜𝑟𝑛
𝐹𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑚𝑦 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑦𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑤𝑜𝑚𝑏
𝑀𝑦 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑒𝑑 𝑚𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑙𝑦
𝐼𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑜𝑢𝑐ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑐𝑙𝑎𝑤𝑠...
𝑌𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔
𝑀𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑜𝑓
𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑠
𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒
𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑓
𝑎𝑡 𝑚𝑒...
𝐼𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑒,
𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑝𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑒
𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑦𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑠𝑢𝑛𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡
𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟
𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑠 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔...
𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑛,
𝑆ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒
𝑦𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑒...
𝐼'𝑣𝑒 𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑟𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑝𝑟𝑎𝑦𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑡𝑜
𝑊𝑒𝑒𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢
𝑌𝑜𝑢'𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑎 𝑝𝑖𝑒𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑠𝑘𝑦
𝐵𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑦𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑒...
𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑓𝑙𝑒𝑠ℎ,
𝐺𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑝𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠
𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑓𝑙𝑒𝑠ℎ,
𝐺𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑝𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠
𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑙𝑎𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔
𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑝𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑠...
𝐼 𝑘𝑖𝑠𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑖𝑠ℎ
𝑜𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑙𝑖𝑝𝑠...
𝑀𝑦 𝑠𝑜𝑛...!
𝑀𝑦 𝑚𝑜𝑜𝑛...!
𝑂ℎ, 𝑚𝑦 𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑜𝑛!
𝐼 𝑑𝑜 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑡𝑦...
𝐼 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦....
حَیآة🌱
 Nov 2023
the dirty poet
another day of israel
digging its own grave
their strategy of dead kids
is a real winner
of course
hamas keeps insisting
it wants to wipe out israel
a handy excuse
for more dead kids
 Nov 2023
Coyote ugly
I pull up to the stop
Sign and side-blow a little smoke
Out of the window.
Wait for the last burn
Of the cigarette
Then turn to green.

One glance in the mirror
And there’s a young woman
In a Tesla with long brown
Curly hair and bright red lips.
Singing like A Walmart movie star.
**** me now sighs.

We pretend to not play mirror lick.
2 minutes trinkets.

Though I sit up a little straighter
Suddenly self wrongsciouss
And then notice
That my hair is sticking
Up just like a who from whoreville
Ah **** it.

And she lets a smile out on bail
Though I think it’s probably
At the old man waiting to cross
With way too many Christmas bags
of shopping.

And we drive on this endless
Highway of hooks and tumours, one night stands
And one life stands
And pretty moments and heartbreaks and rebounds.
And winning lottery tickets.
And Cuban cigars.
And our hearts call room service
In dive motels.
And then we find someone to laugh with.

and my car is ****
And my hair is going silver
And I hit 40 like an uppercut.

And all of us patch up the cracks
And take the pins out of other peoples voodoo dolls
And dance with what we have.
And do our best to punch above
And throw a trick still.
Like everything was beautiful once
And now even if we fade just into accolades.

We wear a A lucky shirt
A new pair of shoes hung up on the telephone wires
A revenge dress to help undress
The bitterness

A little blue that changes colours
Sometimes
As we drive away

No more a stranger
Than we ever were before.
 Nov 2023
nivek
Led by desire-
hidden springs' to quench
-a thirst to love
a need to be- In solitudes
arms. All counts in loves
embrace. In loves sight.
Every desire to be-
every thirst to be found.
 Nov 2023
Zeena Miedema
There was a rose.
Heavy and wild.
Feeling like a tunnel or going down.
He loved sleeping under the stars.

She loved being in the painting.
But it doesn’t matter.
It’s just words.

What about the beer?
Special kind.
It really is.
Let me fly.
I’m just in here listening and loving.
We only dream when we sleep deeply.
Sinking.
Into all the real truth.

I love you,  I make you love me.
Cause you are all I need.
Like special beer and wine.
And all that’s good.
Nothing else is worth it.
Living for. 😢

There’s a rose.
And everybody loves her.
And she’s dying.

🥀🥀🥀🥀
16-11-23
 Nov 2023
Eshwara Prasad
The spiritual discourse was over, my soul felt so strong,
thought my mind was clear, but I was surely wrong,
But as I left the hall, rain poured with no remorse,
I cursed at life, as I walked back into the hall distraught,
I realised that my mind is a slave to the elements, not higher powers.
 Nov 2023
Michael Marchese
Dusk settles in
On my grimmest despair
Of my guilty subconscious
I’m all too aware
Too fixated on quelling
The faith reservations
Uproarious tirade
Of self-confrontations
At war with
Internal conformist
Resent
I nocturnally wander
The wastes of lament
Not enough for
My suffering’s
Love hesitant
But sincere
What I actually feel
Is content
 Nov 2023
Christopher Westra
Bitcoin stash, bitcoin stash
Every morning you greet me
Wealth increase, bring me peace
You look happy to meet me

Patient and slow, may you bloom and grow
Bloom and grow forever
Bitcoin stash, bitcoin stash
Grow my money forever

Bitcoin stash, bitcoin stash
Every morning you greet me
Firm and true, thanks to you
You look happy to meet me

Treasure that flows, may you bloom and grow
Bloom and grow forever
Bitcoin stash, bitcoin stash
Grow my freedom forever
You can see this poem on a background here - https://www.bitcoinpoems.pro/delivery074BloomAndGrowForever.html
This poem can be sung to the song “Edelweiss” from the Sound of Music. The edelweiss flower grows in some of the toughest alpine conditions in the world.  Likewise, Bitcoin must survive and thrive in tough and adversarial conditions throughout the world.
 Nov 2023
Ciel Noir
flowers flying on the breeze

sunlight dancing through the trees

ripples moving through a stream

strange that this is all a dream


symmetry and synchrony

entropy and empathy

can't believe how real this seems

strange that this is all a dream
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