My second favorite poem is “Poetry is Not a Luxury” by Audre Lorde.  Why?  Because it empowers the mind.  You can change this poem up to relate to your own life whether you’re Male, Female, White, Black, Gay or Straight.  I love it!  This poem helped to give me strength during the most difficult times.  It did this by teaching me where to find it.  The strength I needed was within me and it is within all of us, we just need to figure out where to find it.  Enjoy your Sunday!

Please follow this link to read the poem and let me know what you think of it:

http://www.onbeing.org/program/words-shimmer/feature/poetry-not-luxury-audre-lorde/318

Hello my faithful followers.  I decided to share some of my favorite poetry with you.  None of this was written by me, but by those who most inspire me.  Check back throughout the next week to see more from those I love.

We’re going to start off with my #1 favorite poem.  This poem was written by Sor Juana Ines De La Cruz in get this-the 1600’s.  When you read this poem, you are going to flip out.  Why this woman is so intriguing to me includes the fact that she became obsessed with educating herself in a time where educating a woman was frowned down upon.  She gave up dating and the possibilities of marriage by becoming a nun.  She set learning goals for herself and cut off her hair (at the time a woman’s prize possession) if she did not meet those goals.  Finally she dressed as a boy in order to attend school as girls were not allowed in.

Now I want to remind you that this is a translation and nowhere near as awesome as the Spanish version.  When you read this you will see exactly what I am referring to and the ultimate timelessness of her words.   Let me know your opinions on this masterpiece.

Title:  Redondillas (In English, this means Just Breathe)
Written by:  Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz  in the 1600’s  (I cannot stress the year enough, you’ll see why momentarily.)
Silly, you men-so very adept at wrongly faulting womankind, not seeing you’re alone to blame for faults you plant in woman’s mind.
After you’ve won by urgent plea the right to tarnish her good name, you still expect her to behave– you, that coaxed her into shame.
You batter her resistance down and then, all righteousness, proclaim that feminine frivolity, not your persistence, is to blame.
When it comes to bravely posturing, your witlessness must take the prize: you’re the child that makes a bogeyman, and then recoils in fear and cries.
Presumptuous beyond belief, you’d have the woman you pursue be Thais when you’re courting her, Lucretia once she falls to you.
For plain default of common sense, could any action be so queer as oneself to cloud the mirror, then complain that it’s not clear?
Whether you’re favored or disdained, nothing can leave you satisfied. You whimper if you’re turned away, you sneer if you’ve been gratified.
With you, no woman can hope to score; whichever way, she’s bound to lose; spurning you, she’s ungrateful– succumbing, you call her lewd.
Your folly is always the same: you apply a single rule to the one you accuse of looseness and the one you brand as cruel.
What happy mean could there be for the woman who catches your eye, if, unresponsive, she offends, yet whose complaisance you decry?
Still, whether it’s torment or anger– and both ways you’ve yourselves to blame– God bless the woman who won’t have you, no matter how loud you complain.
It’s your persistent entreaties that change her from timid to bold. Having made her thereby naughty, you would have her good as gold.
So where does the greater guilt lie for a passion that should not be: with the man who pleads out of baseness or the woman debased by his plea?
Or which is more to be blamed– though both will have cause for chagrin: the woman who sins for money or the man who pays money to sin?
So why are you men all so stunned at the thought you’re all guilty alike? Either like them for what you’ve made them or make of them what you can like.
If you’d give up pursuing them, you’d discover, without a doubt, you’ve a stronger case to make against those who seek you out.
I well know what powerful arms you wield in pressing for evil: your arrogance is allied with the world, the flesh, and the devil!

This is very exciting news. We have a great bunch of Author’s here at Vanilla Heart Publishing- be sure to check us out!!! 🙂

The first four chapters of my book are available for a free download. Check it out & let me know what you guys think. Be honest because it will help me with book 3… Tell a friend if you like it…. http://books.noisetrade.com/nevasquiresrodriguez/liliana

Today is a gloomy day in Chicagoland.  As I sit on my break at work, I feel inclined to share with you the pain that I have in my left knee, which is brought on by our humid weather.  It’s horrible realizing that you are getting older, but it’s also magnificent to think back on all of the experiences we’ve had in life, both good and bad.  Sure their are some experiences that we’d like to erase from our past, just as there are also numbers in our age that we’d erase along with it.  The fact is there is no going back and changing anything that we’ve done, so all we can do is sit back and appreciate our lives.  Speaking of which, I’d have to take this wonderful opportunity, to wish my mother a very happy birthday.  My mother is amazing because it seems the older she gets, the more energy she has.  Once knocked down by rheumatoid arthritis, this woman is one of the most active women I know.  Although she may wish that she could erase years from her life, it was those very difficult years that have made her the amazing woman that she is today.   I love you mom!!!

Well I’m 5000 words into book 3 and book 1 isn’t even out yet.  Are you excited to read it?  I think I’m having more fun writing book 3 than any of the others.  Here is a side note to my writing.  I often research the location I’m writing about.  For example, Vanilla Heart Publishing has already told you that my story takes place in Colombia.  Do you know that for all three books, I’ve googled information and watched videos in order to really visualize the scenery.  I’ve checked out the birds, the flowers, the foods and even the weather.  If you think writing a book is easy, it might be, but it also takes a lot of hard work to put a story together in respect of making it enjoyable for the reader and to make it fun for yourself to write.  Have a great Monday everyone!

Hello everyone.  I just wanted to say that for the next few weeks I’m going to only be writing short posts, because I’m going to be working on a new book.  “A new book?”  You’re probably thinking, “Your first book hasn’t even come out yet.”  Well that’s right, I’m actually working on four, but will be switching it up so I can get one started and finished within the course of the next month or so.  Also good news on the book that will be hitting the “e-shelves” soon, they’ve selected a cover and I love it!!!  It is beyond exciting to see my story come to life.  In fact within the next month, I’m going to be posting more and more about it.  I want to encourage you to follow my “Twitter” and “Facebook” accounts because I try to post something there every day as well.  My new friend Tamara, has also guided me to “Good Reads” so you will be able to follow me there also.  What do you think about me getting a Wikipedia page?  I might do it, I’m currently undecided.  Give me your votes!!  Enjoy your weekend and those around you that support your many crazy ideas!

As I sit here in my company’s lunchroom, I am extremely glad to inform you that my husband bought me an early birthday present-a laptop.  I’m so excited.  Now I can walk away from my desk at lunch time.  Anyhow, I just thought that I’d write about how we may walk by a million people in our lives and never say a word to them.  What I mean is, how little time it takes to say a simple “hello.” 

I say this because as I sit here, wondering about what to write, I am watching numerous people walk by without saying a word.  If they only knew that I was writing about them, huh?  It’s funny if I said something like, “How’s it going?”  I would totally throw them off guard.  They’d wonder who I was of course and maybe walk by without say a word, or look around without knowing whether or not I was talking to them.  Maybe they would even play it off like thy knew me.  I would totally confuse them, by seeing how long that played out and then maybe saying, “Good to see you.  I gotta go.”  Without explaining a thing.

What I am trying to say that I don’t know if it’s the simple fact that I’m a writer, or that I have an extremely imaginative personality that makes me wonder what people are thinking, where their lives are at, or simply previous or future experiences.  I can literally look around this room of about one hundred people- maybe more- I work at a corporate location, and think of a story for each one of them.  I am the type of person that says, “Hello” or “Good morning.”  I hope it brightens their day and if not, maybe it will brighten mine.  I mean you never know who it I that you are saying “hello” to, do you?  

Have a great Wednesday!