Nicole N.

Nicole N is an inspiring force. This poem, written with her as the subject a part of the Sister Series, a series of celebrating individual women and sharing their beauty through poetry.

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nicole n.

by Regan Smith

• • •

I was with her once, 
sipping tea, discussing the depths 
of our minds, the strangeness of dreams; 
but I know that this was only a brief encounter, 
for she lives in many worlds. 

She lives in galaxies, making her home in a
crater in the moon; she lives in a fairy forest; 
or among the sand in the middle of an ocean, 
maybe a home in one of her worlds is an 
open-aired room, thick with incense.  

But in every scene, there is a commonality; 
she creates fearlessly, passionately–
surrounded by great beauty; she is never alone.  

She’s met with an omnipresent force, which fills 
her to the brim with joy; whether she creates stars 
or streams or galaxies or poetry, it all resonates 
with others deeper than Marianas Trench. 

But if she never created another seedling, 
never wrote another word–even if she never 
spoke another sound, her warmth radiates; 
her joy is still contagious and creates mindscapes 
of moons of dreams and mountains of hope in others. 

She is fully seen, fully known, fully loved 
for purely her existence.

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Brandi

This is a poem that’s a part of the Sister Series, a series of celebrating individual women and sharing their beauty through poetry. This poem is titled, Brandi, after a sunshine of a soul.

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brandi

by Regan Smith

• • •

Her thoughts are a garden, 
exposing a glorious song. 

During the day, she diligently sows seeds
and during nighttime she draws her flowers: 
the Black-Eyed Susan, White Wood Aster, 
the myriad of Goldenrod blooms. 

She wrangles snakes, pulling them 
out of her garden, grasping their bodies 
right behind the eyes; she holds no fear–
for although she’s been bitten before, 
familiar to the feeling of poison in her skin–

she now holds authority, victory over all: 
depression turned to dreams, 
anxiety turned to assurance, 
her thoughts now at full bloom.

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Tess

This poem that’s a part of the Sister Series, a series of celebrating individual women and sharing their beauty through poetry. This poem is dedicated to my sister-in-law–a mother in the making–Tess.

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Tess

by Regan Smith

• • •

A mirror reflection of the heavens, 
magnified through her humility, 
she brings fire down to earth; 
nothing can mar this light. 

This woman knows how to turn 
frozen hearts soft again. 
I’ve seen her do it through my brother, 
through my heart, too. 

Taught by example from her mother, 
she grows deeper into gratitude daily, 
living mindful of the eternity that’s set 
before her, her husband, her baby boy. 

She will inherit the earth through her humility; 
she welcomes and warms the hearts of the lost.

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Faith

Faith is poem that’s a part of the Sister Series, a series of celebrating individual women and sharing their beauty through poetry.

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Faith

by Regan Smith

• • •

When all others see only a mirage, 
Faith sees the whole vision–
and oh what a joy she brings, 
being able to have full confidence
in the land that is ahead. 

In this vision, there is a valley 
encompassed by mountains, 
and with each foot’s step, 
there is a vantage point of glory. 

This is the land that’s been promised to her, 
and she shares it with me now, too. 

While this whole land was made 
with her specifically in mind, 
her favorite space is a field of sunflowers;
together they radiate their praises. 

Today, Faith is content and confident. 
She will share her vision with others, and 
with each word she speaks, she plants the seed
of faith and hope; their awakening grows, 

and another sunflower is added to her field.

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Sister Series 2020

Last year, I felt pulled to start a poetry series in alignment with International Women’s Day, titled Sister Series. In this series, I wrote poems with some specific women in mind, depicting past solely their skin, rather, penning about the beauty within their soul.

I felt a similar pull this year. When I went to go write these poems, I became overwhelmed with gratitude, for I’ve had the opportunity to become acquainted and know so many women over the past year. I decided to write every name I knew in a jar and picked out a few. Over the next month, I will be sharing these works with you.

While these poems were penned with specific women in mind—you will see your mother, your sister, your friend, maybe even yourself—in these poems. I want to encourage you to share these words with them, or even write a few of your own.

This first poem comes from a time I visited Ohio before I moved here for the second time; I was in the Columbus Museum of Art and started weeping for the people here. That’s the moment I knew that Ricky and I would move back here, and naturally, was the perfect poem to start off this series.

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Kindred

by Regan Smith

• • •

I walk through art galleries and weep, 
the paper and paint is beautiful, 
but these humans inhabiting this space
are what take my breath away. 

I see you be moved by an art piece, 
emotions emerging to the surface, 
until they’re shown on your skin. 

My heart is tied to yours, and 
with every atom, I can feel 
when you ache–when you have joy,
my heart soars alongside yours. 

And although today we may be strangers, 
our eyes link for a second,
and that scintillating moment
reminds us that we are sisters.

Metamorphosis

I’ve recently noticed that social media has evoked a lot of its users to promote being stagnant or unchanging. I want to encourage you to partake in healthy rest and seasons of patient pauses, but to continue in the velocity of internal growth or the pursuit of it. With that, this string of consciousness was born: Metamorphosis.

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You don’t need a sign to awaken and self reflect to want to rebirth from your present self and remain in a state of humility becoming a patiently learning larva that sheds its skin through the consumption of truth to build yourself a hidden chrysalis where you grow without all eyes watching and the world may see you as dormant but you’re growing wings and will emerge with an undeniable transformation and you don’t need a sign to encourage this growth in another or to make this metamorphosis cyclical within yourself