With Vinyle zine covering every art discipline, Nailah Heard's poetry could not go unnoticed. As we all are one, poetry can be utilized to articulate the feelings some could not put into words. We asked Nailah 'how does your artwork express your soul?' Read below to see what Nailah has to say.
My artwork is a true reflection of me. I love art and being creative, and one of my best creative outlets is poetry. I started to journal at a young age, around 7, and as I grew older, I started writing poetry.
I feel like every poem expresses my thoughts and feelings so beautifully. I come from a lineage of writers. My mother writes, and she recently published her first book about self-love. My father loved writing music, which trickled down to my three brothers, who wrote and produced their own songs. My maternal grandmother was an artist, she loved to draw, and she loved to write. My paternal grandmother is writing her first autobiography, and she's 75 years old, and honestly, it's a beautiful sight to witness. When a person is passionate about something, it'll show in their voice, body language, and words. Using my words is how I connect people to my passion. When people read my poetry, I want them to feel my soul. I want my words to pour into others' souls and move them in a way that inspires them. God blessed me with the gift of writing, and it's my duty to share it with the world authentically and unapologetically.
Here’s my favorite quote by Nipsey Hussle that helps me to continue to use my gifts to inspire others.
“The highest human act is to inspire. We all are in search for inspiration everyday. Opportunities to be able to inspire or be inspired, I think is what creates movements. We all have the capacity to inspire people.” -Nipsey Hussle
Tow view more of Nailah's creative disciplines, head over to her social medias:
Instagram: @photobynailah
Personal IG: @heardnailah
Here are a few poems that Nailah picked to share with us. Enjoy!
The Teachings of Poetry
Poetry has taught me to be free, To be completely me, Poetry told me, “Don’t worry about this or that.” Poetry whispered in my ear and said, “Don’t worry at all. My darling when you write it out you will feel calm, at ease, at peace.” I am happy that poetry came into my life and swept me off my feet. At such an early age, I realized a pen has power. The pen can curate my dreams and boost my self-esteem. Poetry said to me, “With me you can never be wrong and I will never lead you astray.” I told Poetry, “I love you and I am glad you love me too.” When I write I can be myself, I can be what God made me to be. I have no specific reason as to why I am who I am But through the pen I can figure it out Think it through Let it sink in And I can shine in my truest form I can never go wrong with poetry. I write what I feel, I write what I can’t say, I write about the feelings of each day, The pen has healed me The paper renews me Through my poems I can feel a new me.
A Letter to My Womb
I have not been a good friend to my womb.
For that, I apologize.
I didn’t know that I was allowed to be her friend,
I didn’t know that she was mine.
I barely knew her name and who am I to place blame?
I thank God for the spiritual alignment.
A lot of time has passed and I didn’t realize I was declining.
My health, spirit, thoughts, and words.
I pray to have a higher power and the Lord I will go to first.
I’m learning to love me, all of me, my womb included.
I can’t go on looking foolish.
I am not embarrassed if the world looks at me crazy.
I’d be embarrassed if I knew better and still made a decision not to do better.
I vow to allow God to reveal my destiny.
Even if the work is hard.
I must make sacrifices to become better.
The version of me God already had in his mind.
An image created by man I will never be.
From here on out I vow to befriend my womb and make peace within myself so that I can make peace with her.
This letter is to my womb, whom I love dearly.
Silent Killer Cops shoot a black man down nobody seems to care, The emotional stress is what the families have to bear, That’s behind the scenes, That’s covered up, The news always says, “That black man is corrupt!” My brother was shot and although he didn’t die, the emotional trauma is what I try to hide, Seeing him bleed on the ground, Holding him, Practically watching him die, In front of my eyes, That’s something that no one should ever see, That day I wish I would’ve been blind, But no I don’t, Do you want to know why? Because I watched the cops sit there and wait for him to die. Yeah, I said it. I watched them sit there and wait for him to die. The cops try and ask him questions while he bled on the ground, What more can he say? He’s been shot down! Mike Brown wasn’t as lucky as him, The cops didn’t ask questions, They just assumed it was him, He was shot for no reason, No reason at all and if he did do something wrong the cops shouldn’t have taken his life,
That’s God’s call, But as the days go on and the months get longer Mike Brown is just another black male and his life is no longer.