Your eyes constantly smear
the edges of my heart.

It's hard to peer over snowy
rooftops to look at the stars
when all my eyes look for is
you.

---

The last day of  A River of Stones! It's been a journey. To make an observation of my day, to really pay attention...it took a lot more than playing around with pretty words. Most of my small stones aren't very good in my eyes. But it forced me to really look. I know I didn't write everyday on time. But everyday, I thought about my stone. At times, it was all I can think about. especially when I wanted to forget all of the chaos of my life. Just knowing that I made a promise to myself to write everyday was better than the days where writing is the furthest thing from my mind. It reminds me of my commitment to writing, to poetry that I have made for the rest of my life. It's like a marriage. You have to put in work in order for it to work. But it's also fun and sometimes, you can fall in love all over again.

What really surprised me was how often snow came up in my stones. Obviously, with all the snow that we have been having in New York, it's hard to get away from. But I actually hate snow. A childhood accident has caused a lifelong fear. But having to write a small stone during this season has made me look at snow in a different light. I still dislike snow, but I appreciate its beauty.

I want to thank Fiona Robyn for putting out this challenge. My eyes are a little bit more aware of what's in front of me. And it started my year off on the write foot...hahaha!

There will be more stones in my future.

At 2AM, I walk around my block
nicknamed Snow Town for this season.
The hushed quiet, the stillness
of the blue crisp night, the only place snowy
ice walls make me feel safe.

For a few hours, the temperature
had a fever, making me sweat
it out for you.

Snow falls from the roof onto her head - she laughs.

tired of all the white.
maybe if snow fell in
rainbows...

In the quiet of the storm
I broke virgin
ground, looking for
familiar hard, dirty
steps to balance on.

the sun keeps teasing
us with slightly elevated
temperatures and wet sidewalks.

i know there's a snow storm planned
for tonight. i heard mother
nature making a deal with
meteorologists.

Hey Write Queen Readers!

I have a new Write Discovery that will make especially poets and fashionistas very happy. I’ll even push it and say that typographers will love it too. I have discovered....POETRY ON CLOTHES!

Now before someone comes and tells me that is not new, I’ll tell you that I know. I’ve seen famous poems on t-shirts on Zazzle or on miscellaneous poetry sites. But this is original poetry here guys! And it has a purpose: to inspire!

I was wasting time on Etsy one night, looking and bookmarking all the things I would love to buy one day, when I came across Dawning Soul. Seeing words on anything other than a book always excites me because if I can wear words and look like a writing goddess, I will. And Dawning Soul is the perfect fit for a writing goddess. Here take a look:

Dawning Soul is t-shirts. It's earrings, necklaces, bracelets and journals. It's inspirational poetry done with eye popping typography. It's fashion, love, and all the great things a dream should be.

I felt good just reading what was on her products. After looking through her Etsy page, I took a look at the Dawning Soul website (www.dawningsoul.com) and I knew that I had to reach out. I had to find out how this wonderful idea came about.

So I sort out Ms. Jennifer Gabiola. After a few e-mails back and forth and settling on a date, I called her up on a Friday afternoon. We had a great conversation! I haven’t spoken with someone who has such a positive vibe to them in a while.

But before we get into that, another picture!

Now let’s break down Dawning Soul:

Who: Jennifer Dawn Gabiola (Dawning Soul comes from her middle name, Dawn among other things).

Where: Houston, Texas...and the internet of course.

What: Poetic Goods! So far she has an assortment of shirts, a hoodie, journals, earrings, bracelets, necklace chokers, tote bags, and a book of poetry.

How did it begin: Ms. Gabiola took a negative and made it into a positive. About a year and a half ago, she was working as a graphic designer. After 12 years of hard work, going with the trend of the past couple of years, her company laid her off. She took some time to refocus and figure out what to do next. She thought about the things she loved which are writing poetry, design, fashion, and empowerment. At some point, she wrote this:

I AM

I am flourishing
I am thriving
I am expanding
I am advancing
I AM

I am here nor there
I am everywhere
Pervading
Sustaining
My thoughts formulating
Into an infinite state
Of my own creating

Which is the center of this beautiful collection. She took baby steps and designed what I personally think can be an amazing new trend.

How is it done: Screenprinting! At least for the shirts (I forgot to ask about the jewelry). She does a few at a time. After she has the design printed on the material, she cuts up the shirt and just makes it look COOL!

Exciting Moments so far: An eco-friendly shop in Houston called One Green Street has displayed the “I AM Universal Collection” which is her “I AM” shirts translated into Spanish, Japanese and French. Her line was also shown at Houston’s first Fashion Week this last fall!

         Fun fact: To make her show stand out from the rest, she recorded her poetry so it can be played while the models walked out. Talk about art on top of art.

The Future: Ms. Gabiola has a lot of plans that she would love to carry out in the future for Dawning Soul. Right now for Valentine’s Day, she’s looking to have some cards made. She would love to put her work on more products where you don’t see poetry everyday like scarves and mousepads. She wants to do motivational speaking and hold workshops. She wants to showcase the stories of other Dawning Souls on her site to help inspire others. And she definitely wants to break some language barriers. She’s looking to have more of her items being translated into different languages.

Where to find: You can find Dawning Soul at the following links:

Website: http://www.dawningsoul.com

Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/dawningsoul

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dawningsoul

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/DawningSoul

I hope that if you see something you like at Dawning Soul that you will support this lovely artist. As said on the Dawning Soul site, “Live your poetry.”

Personally, I would love to see poetry become something more than something you see on paper. And the ‘I AM’ poem makes me feel good inside. Ever since I have encountered it, I often take a look at Dawning Soul, daydream about the stuff I will buy when I get a job, and I read the I AM poem. Positive reinforcement shouldn’t be something you read just in books or online. It should be carried with you, you should wear it proudly through your journey. Jennifer Gabiola has found a way we can do that.

You should definitely check her out! And you should check out a special message she has for you guys that I agree with 150%!

Jennifer Dawn Gabiola: “If you really love something, if you have a true passion for something, then it's absolutely necessary that you pursue that to some degree in your life. Tapping into that somehow, maybe starting as a hobby, then seeing where it goes. Whatever it is you love, that's what your gift is. Once you start sharing it, there's going to be people who are going to appreciate it.”

It’s why I’m here folks. I love to write and love the internet, so I write this blog. She loves poetry, design, and fashion so she makes fantastic poetic goods. If you love something, don’t just say you love it. Do it. Don’t worry about people not paying attention. Someone will. You’ll never know where it goes. If we didn’t take chances, we wouldn’t have stuff like Dawning Soul.

So what will you do today?

my fingers are red
yet my blood is hiding,
dipping low
from the blistering cold.

if the temperatures keep
                                      dropping
and the snow piles
                                   keep rising, we are
in risk of being buried
       in a temporary tundra.