Hey there! I’m Dee. Thanks for dropping by. Welcome, come on in. Why I created this blog? Short answer: because we all have something to communicate and I will not let my voice die or be silenced. I will be brave, my voice will not die within me unexpressed and unheard. This is therefore a …
Before-word: As I’m spending more time building this blog, I’ve been thinking a lot about writing—the art of writing and the power of the written word. I love to write. And chances are if you’re on this site, you’re a blogger which means you also love to write. Or, you’re here because you love to …
Impossible to I’mPossible! changes everything.
Transforming. Emerging. In the in-between.
Accept you as you areBelieve in the good, do good Cultivate an attitude of gratitudeDo what you love, do you Embrace the flawsFind peace of mind Give with no expectationsHappiness is fleeting, create joy Invest in experiences, things are ephemeral Jump around in bed some times, find your inner child Kindness is life-changing, be a …
Continue reading Life Mottos ©Dawn Minott |an Abecedarian, Mental Health Awareness
Words weave a tapestry bold and bright!
Words are like tapestry, woven art.
Peonies pretty by nature!
Roses that inspire.
Life gets hard sometimes. In those moments stay encouraged.
Love’s strength revealed.
My trusted solace, my words, had disappeared
George Floyd your life mattered. Your death sparked a movement. We will not forget.
How many more?! If the massacre of our children is not enough to initiate change, what will? Prayers for the parents, siblings and children impacted by yet another school massacre in America—this time Uvalde, Texas.
Darkness can be from issues that you dare not let anyone see or know about, the issues you struggle with alone and silently … it’s time to open the door, let in the light!
It’s raining young people off roofs Suicide epidemic—the numbers are proof A single gun shot aimed at the head Appearing well but next day, dead *** Don’t take it for granted you’ll see the signs Till you read another tragedy in the headlines Don’t judge by what you see on the outside It’s not always …
Continue reading It’s Raining … Suicide ©️Dawn Minott |Mental Health Awareness
Along the twists and turns of a maze of crumbling alleyways in fabled Old Stone Town in Zanzibar (Tanzania)!
Imagine … God running!!
You can start again!
Trip back to Africa immersed in historyThe defiance of a people subjugatedLike memories’ power to holdPhotographs are windows ofMoments frozen in timeLike eyes’ windows to the soulHistory etched in architectureThe stories buildings hold Jetty 1 (Cape Town, South Africa), formally a prison and now a museum Jetty 1 at the Cape Town harbor is a …
Continue reading Back to Africa: Back to the Future through Windows & Doors ©Dawn Minott
Honoring the strength and power of a mother. The power and strength of mothers, grandmothers, other-mothers and motherhood have been historically overlooked. I honor and celebrate my mother and mothers everywhere.
Midweek is a good point to recharge to get over the hump fighting.
Living this thing called life is interspersed with periods of “stay”. In this post I’d like to share my reflection on being in a period of stay—when everything that all my senses encounter shouts: “leave”, “run”, “cower”, BUT that still small voice keeps insisting on “stay”. There is stay that is relevant to one’s positioning …
Continue reading Shabbat Shalom: The Stay ©Dawn Minott | with audio
Three years ago I was in the throes of making plans to celebrate my birth over the full month of April, like I’ve traditionally done for birthdays past. However, on 11 March 2020 after the corona-19 virus infected people in 114 countries, WHO declared a global pandemic and soon thereafter countries were locked down. And …
Walk gently in the lives of others. Not all wounds are visible. The Bible says it this way: Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones. Proverbs 16:24 The week is long. The weekend is short. Midweek is a good point to recharge to get over the hump. Use …
Perched precariously upon a rockA watering hole for travelers wideBelow craggy surface fishing boats dockLandlocked till ocean ushers in high tide Aptly called—The Rock—restaurant with viewOcean kissing sky from every sideDiners pose for pictures not one or twoCapture moments too glorious to hide Dishes created from ocean’s offerChefs working their magic to make it rightCulinary …
For over 5000 years, the art of henna—also called mehndi in Hindi and Urdu—has been practiced in various parts of the world including Africa. This temporary decorative art is used on hands and feet and usually reserved for the celebration of special occasions such as weddings and birthdays. As this is my birthMONTH (April) celebration …
Nakupenda beach, Zanzibar Nakupenda isSandbank beach in ZanzibarIt means “I love you” Indian OceanIdyllic summer swim inCrystal-clear waters Waves move o’er white sandLow tide ripples revealingJust off Stone Town coast 2023 All Rights Reserved Like what you see? To never miss a post click HERE👈 to subscribe & follow the blog. I love hearing from …
All photos taken by me 😊 Grasslands roam Awkward elegance African Queen of height Safari expedition Moments etched in time Afterword: Shadorma is a Spanish 6-line syllabic poem of 3/5/3/3/7/5 syllable lines respectively. 2023 All Rights Reserved Like what you see? To never miss a post click HERE👈 to subscribe & follow the blog. I …
Music sets words to motion.
Midweek recharge to get over the hump.
When a photo speaks more than words.
Today, April 22, is Earth Day, a time set aside to celebrate the Earth, learn about the environment, and promote conservation.
Selah! This may be the most mysterious word in the Bible. There’s no one definition but the operative word that all these definitions have in common—though it’s only implicit—is silence.
Live life in full circle.
The week is long. The weekend is short. Midweek is a good point to recharge to get over the hump—persevere. Happy hump day!
The best gifts to commemorate the day of my birth—the gift of words in poetry.
Pretty by nature!
Let her eat cake because… why not?!
The gift of blessings pronounced.
When the heart shines, the soul smiles!
You are and have more than enough for what you’ve been called to do!
You don’t go girl, you flow girl, no question, its your world!
Happy birthday to me!
The awesomeness that is me. Birthday affirmation 2023.
Don’t mistake reservation for lackluster. Sincerely, an Introvert
Tulips signaling spring’s arrival.
Blessed Easter. Resurrection Sunday. Thanks
Friday there was sorrow. Saturday was silent. But Sunday is coming and indeed it is here—RESURRECTION morning. Blessed Easter.
Spring time beauties—hyacinths
Easter reminds us Jesus conquered death so we can have life and have it MORE ABUNDANTLY!!
Easter Saturday is silent. Easter Sunday is coming.
Red red rose!!
The best of yet to come. Don’t stop striving.
You’re your own kind of beautiful.
By teaching the history of slavery we can guard against its legacy of racism.
The enterprise of enslavement lasted for more than 400 years. A history of barbarity and also a history of awe-inspiring courage.
When I say I miss you, I mean I miss the part of me that you are!
Never stop creating.
Before the written word, poetry was.
If it’s worth it. It’s worth waiting.
Tulips’ peaceful defiance to winter’s stronghold.
Equity means creating an inclusive world. We can each play a part.
Be who you are. Say what you feel.
Still in love with you.
Honoring black history—the triumphs and struggles, the innovations and the artistic, cultural, social and political achievements. Black resistance.
Undeterred, glass ceiling-breaker!
Life is a master teacher.
Jesus Messiah, the Son of God yet as human as brother and friend
Black hair is black resistance. Black hair has a uniquely meaningful history as a symbol of survival, resistance and celebration and as such is an important part of Black history.
The week is long. The weekend is short. Midweek is a good point to recharge to get over the hump being gentler with you. Happy hump day!
She is … Africa on my heart
Happy Valentine’s Day!!!
Up until the end of the Civil War, more than 200,000 ads to recapture enslaved people who walked away from slavery were published in American newspapers.
Life changed instantlyDeath and dying all around Hearts are beating pain Finding hope in griefRescue received with a smileLove knows no limits Afterword: I arrived in Türkiye for work 2 days before the earthquake. We weren’t close to the epicenter, but the humanitarian nature of the organization I work for meant parts of our team …
Continue reading For Türkiye & Syria ©️Dawn Minott | Senryu series
Inspired by a documentary on Whitney Houston’s life and death and out birthed this piece—a response to her #1-chart-topping question in song: “Where Do Broken Hearts Go?” I miss her. What a beautiful contributor to our world she was.
In 1492, the year Christopher Columbus made landfall on an island in the Caribbean—and the waves of European exploration, conquest and settlement that followed—it started a massive global exploitation of indigenous populations from Africa to the Americas with spin-off consequences that still reverberate in the lives of black and brown peoples today.
The week is long. The weekend is short. Midweek is a good point to recharge—add a little color, brighten up the dark patches to get over the hump. Happy hump day!
Black resistance means creating space to be heard and seen.
this orchid mom is exuberant yet again because one more of my other babies is blooming yet again! She’s my oldest, just over 5 years old!!!!
History// Bold and black as night// So it shines// Like stars bright// In a cloudless dark night sky// There from where time starts//
Every stroke of pen takes flight// Every piece of poem and prose write// Every act of resistance might// Every riot, march, sit-in fight// Each is another force—Black resistance// Stay the course till freedom for all is right
African Americans have consistently resisted historic and ongoing oppression, in all its forms. Nearly 179 years ago, the Rev. Henry Highland Garnett proposed that the only path to freedom, justice, and equality; self-determination; and/or social transformation is RESISTANCE. In thunder tones, Garnett shouted: Let your motto be resistance! resistance! RESISTANCE! By resisting Black people have …
Continue reading Black History Month: 2023 Theme—Black Resistance
… happy orchid mom exclaiming: “my baby is blooming yet again!” She’s the first bloom of my season!!! Waiting with bated breath for my other babies to bloom.
God never looks at you apart from Jesus. So don’t ever see yourself outside of Jesus. Everything that is true about Jesus is true about you.
The week is long. The weekend is short. Midweek is a good point to relook at yourself and recharge to get over the hump. Happy hump day!
No! It’s not a painting or a photograph. It’s a recently discovered waterfall in Peru, called “Bride waterfall”. Mother Nature is at it again. She totally rocks!!! More details/video http://bit.ly/3WS1Gg5 Why just be a body of water free falling over rocks, down a mountainside when you can flow expressively like a bride wearing a wedding …
Continue reading Sunday Photo Reflection #36: Bride Waterfall
The week is long. The weekend is short. Midweek is a good point to recharge to get over the hump. Happy hump day. It’s a good day!!
Some kings rule from iron thronesDisconnected from community realityYou’re the King who served from humanity’s throneWho dreamed not in black or whiteWho envisioned instead a world inclusiveYour voice, your vision a great void fillingSpeaking the language of the unheardInspiration to persevere, to never stop dreamingSummoning collective longings and eternal hopesFor a nation by its noblest …
… also referred to as 'Dark and Handsome' or 'Black swan'. Mother Nature totally rocks with flowers in the full range of the color spectrum including black!!! Thanks to Cee for hosting the Flower of the Day prompt 2023 ©Dawn Minott All Rights Reserved Like what you see? To never miss a post click HERE👈 …
Continue reading Flower of the Day Challenge #53: Helleborus x Hybridus—Black Beauty
Before-word: Life is line upon line of experiences grouped together like stanzas, arranged like verses in a script // expressed with voice, diction, sound, rhythm, meter // understood through figures of speech, symbolism, allegory, imagery // structured in syntax and scheme // with strong, accurate, interesting words, deliberately chosen to give meaning to life — LIFE LIVED IN POETRY.
It’s spring time I’m abounding with joy There’s a cute little bunny that drops by the garden each spring He’s an elusive frisky little fella Ears always at attention, pointed straight up to sky like soldier resolute to flight, not fight At best I’ve managed only to stare longingly at “His Royal Cuteness” Face pressed …
Thanks to Cee for hosting the Flower of the Day prompt 2023 ©Dawn Minott All Rights Reserved Like what you see? To never miss a post click HERE👈 to subscribe & follow the blog. I love hearing from you, so remember to “like” & comment. For more content start HERE👈 In creative solidarity, Dee
The week is long. The weekend is short. Midweek is a good point to recharge to get over the hump. Be flexible enough to bend. Happy hump day!
“Ubuntu” is part of the Zulu phrase "Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu", which literally means that a person is a person through other people.
Fear not what is before you when those who care are behind you.
What’s your status? Not what’s on social media feeds or catchy one liners on time-elapsed stories. Your status now and always will be child of God!
As I’m on the final-final days of leave and the NY weather has been unseasonably mild, I decided to take my reading to the outside. I strolled to my favorite park, just across the street from home, and chose a bench facing the river to perch. I perched because much of the bench remains wet …
Positive thinking and optimism.
Boots worn laid in waste Till nature took it over Unexpectedly
Happy New Year 2023
A numerological countdown to 2023 …
Shelves of Guidance
Practical advice for a happier, fuller, and more meaningful life
I write it all spontaneously!
Bestselling Independent Publisher
Following the Path to the Past
Recipes showing step by step directions with pictures and a printable recipe card.
In and out of contexts
The Art of Prose and Poetry
Poems & More 