40 Lines of Commitment

Often time I am stopped,

in grocery stores, or liquor stores,

& once in a toy store,

about the length

of my hair.

Comments usually cordial,

supportive

Not once

were they negative.

Not once.

Mostly they are curious:

it is never about

personal growth, or

choices, or perceptions,

or loss, or

knowledge of self.

It stops @

“how long are they,”

&

“how long you been growing them.”

Disappointing.

Refreshing

would not adequately describe

the emotion I’d feel

if a conversation ensued about:

being rooted, or

belief, or extension of belief

or

Africa, the African diaspora,

or life’s journey, or progressive thought &

perceptions, or commitment

I would not oppose

a debate on

the use of

“dreds” or “dred-locks”,

VS.

“locks”

Recovering Poet

This blog started because of boredom in a classroom full of middle school students who were "emotionally challenged".

I had crash landed in Denver, and gotten on my feet working jobs in the mental health and education fields.

Truth: I love working with kids who are UnderDogs!

UnderDogs have to Recover from some ish!

I wanted to re-work this blog, because the journey has turned, become a bit twisted, and is on quite the different path.  

• For one, I'm fully on my feet
• I have completed goals
• Self-published one book
• Had a second book published by an actual publisher
• I'm no longer in that classroom, or middle school
• But still working with UnderDog kids
• Still working in the mental health field
• I view myself differently
• I am a father
• I have to have a "boss/owner/expert" mentality  
• God Ain't Done With Me Yet

So DoodleWithMyPoodle has to become more of a spring-board.  It's been that, but it needs to continue doing that, and in doing that, I wanted to class it up a bit with a logo.

So what about this tag-line: Recovering Poet??

I've come a long way.  Twenty-ish years ago I was a die-hard spoken word artist, performing nightly in clubs across the city of Atlanta.  I collaborated with other poets, I wrote constantly, I travelled and performed in different states, I was in the studio making albums! (about 6 to date).  

But I didn't get anywhere with it.

I overstand what Langston said about 'a dream deferred'.  

Twenty years later I haven't performed on a stage in over a year, I haven't travelled anywhere to perform in over three, however, I did post a somewhat silly spoken-word poem on Twitter & Instagram.  

So I'm recovering, adapting, changing.  It is has not been easy, and I doubt it will be.  

So the tagline Recovering Poet.  I am recovering from 20 years of failing to reach my pinnacle, and living off my art.  But I'm here, I'm still writing, and learning how to expand.  

I thank you for staying for the journey, and I look forward to continuing the joyous journey with you. 

There will still be poetry, 

there will still be writing, 

there will still be short stories.  

But there will be boundaries, and moderation as well.  

I must remember, I am more than just a writer, I am also responsible for lives.  

Give Thanks, see you soon, and thanks for the support!!!

Logo Chosen!!!

Well folks, here it is, the brand new logo for this wonderful blog, DoodleWithMyPoodle!

You may have noticed the tagline "Recovering Poet".  It's a thing, we'll get into it a little bit later.  

But I did want to thank all the people who voted, and support this wonderful effort!  

I look forward to sharing more life stories, more poetry, more short stories, and more positive and creative vibes!  

Thanks again,

Poet402

Branding & Logos

"Personal Branding," it's what people know about you, what you give them, what is presented to them. It's not a new concept, the term became popular around '97.

As authors and writers, our brand can be important.  It gives immediate information about what you do, or what you write.  In the case of writers its important because your genre has to do with your brand.  

You say you're a writer, but what do you write? Articles, Horror, Romance, Sci-Fi, Literary Fiction, Poetry, Short Stories...what do you write?

For me, the name sums it up.  Poet402, on Twitter it's @former402poet. So what's up with the former402poet name--? That's a tale for a different post.  However, I have branched out from poetry to guest-blogging, writing short stories, and even a couple of books.

In 2014 Forbes cited 7 things you need to do in order to build your brand; here they are in a nut-shell:

1. Start thinking of yourself as a brand. (What subject matter do you want to be perceived as an expert in?)

2. Audit your online presence. (Be responsive to what is said)

3. Secure a personal website. (A place for your bio, resume, and links to your work)

4. Find ways to produce value. (Creating or curating content that's in line with your brand)

5. Be purposeful

6. Associate with other strong brands

7. Reinvent

_________________________________________________________________________________

I've gone through all that to really focus in on #7--Reinvent.  I have been running this blog with its up's and down's for the last 4 plus years.  No help, just hard work, sweat, and dedication to my craft.

I now want this blog to stand out more   It's my platform, more than ever before and I need it to shine a little bit.  So I thought a new way to do this would be to:

Create A New Logo!!!

But because I love the support I have received over the years, and through the magic of social media, I would love for YOU to help me choose the new logo

I have narrowed the field down to four.  And please forgive me, but I did begin the polling on Instagram yesterday, so there is a slight lead for one of them.  However we'll keep the polling open for the next week on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Here we go, up first Choice A

Next Candidate, Choice B

Next Candidate, Choice C

 Next Candidate Choice D

  

There you have it folks!  

So all you have to do is log into your google and leave a comment for which logo you like best!  

Thanks and looking forward to your vote

Perseverance all Raw'd Up

Let me clarify, I don’t want to write this post.  I think it’s silly, to say the least.  Too planned too publicized, too “done” already.  But I’m a man of his word, so here you go.

Perseverance, really?  It is what we say it is.  It’s continuing on through the storm, through the muck and mud, and people slinging negative affection all over your twitter feed. (we have no idea what that even means) It’s riding the dark horse on a sunny day, more naked than Lady Godiva, just because you said you would.

Stick to your word people.

• I’ve had my ass kicked plenty of times via life.  There was that time about 20 years ago when I finally got a poetry feature in Atlanta, and no one showed, (but I was like fuck it, Imma keep doin’ this spoken word shit).  
• And then there was that time about 5 years before that when I was in school and got hustled for my tuition money, (yeah, that one sucked ass.) however I did find a way to go back and get my BA.  
• And recently about 7 years ago, I skee-skirted out of Omaha, (bad tags, no license) and landed in Denver--was homeless for a few months, but I hustled through it.

Perseverance--really?? We’ve all gone through some shit right??  If you haven’t, then you ain’t lived.  

My advice, get off your Mama’s couch and go try something.  It’s as they all say--character building.  

Say you’re going to accomplish something, better yet promise it, commit to it and don’t stop doing that shit till you get there.

Call me Poet402, call me Former402poet, call me Nabraska, call me Clarence.  Call me published, call me a writer, call me a fuckin’ poet, call me a spoken word artist, and when you get done with all that, call me a failure.  But you can call me that, because I’ve done those things.  I’ve been on that dark horse on sunny day riding naked screaming poetry for 20 years now--yep, I’m that old!

Perseverance.  I’ve failed and gotten the hell back up--have you?  When you persevere you don’t wallow, you don’t stay down in that mud puddle, you get the hell up, with a wet ass, and get to movin’.  You accept that failure, accept the fact that shit didn’t go right, that plans fall apart. You:

Accept the fact that you are human.

Then you can start to move, I mean really move.  I mean you start diving into that reflection, and having opinions bounce off of you like rubber, because you’ve done it.  You gave your honest and best effort, failed, and lived through it. 

That’s perseverance.

And that’s it kids.  When we say, keep doin’ you, that what it means, keep doin’ you till you gets up and shines.  Now go on out there and persevere. 

And if this blog-post didn’t hit you the right way, or inspire your socks off...it’s cool, I’ve failed before, and my black ass knows how to get the hell up!

Love, peace and kisses--Boom!  

Fails Are Lessons (part II)

Fails...sometimes are the hottest things on the net, or life, or with your bestie.  But when it happens to you...eh, no so much.

As a writer, or in the writing community it sucks to fail, or receive that dreaded rejection letter.  But we go on.  Uneasy, chipped, and bruised, but we move forward.  We may go to Pintrest, and look at inspirational quotes, or Google them, or just get out the house to get away from them.  But they happen, and we deal with them.

Most of us as writers, have other jobs that take time away from what we love (uh writing).  And even that can sometime be a struggle, or race.  We always need something that is financially lucrative enough to make a living, but also something that won't suck up all our time.  

So lately, not only have I been failing in stories being declined for magazines, but now also my resume has been receiving a bunch of rejection letters.   

So I did what most of us do, I got down on myself, but only briefly. I know things take time, and a win is just around the corner.  I just have to keep at it. 




On Sundays, I tweet with brand influencer @marshawright -- #thinkBIGSundayWithMarsha.  It's always a good time, and uplifting.  I was able to do some tweeting and get my mood back up.  The tweet I sent out, got me some attention--and who doesn't like attention?

However the end result was I felt better.  I was connecting with people, I gave some honest effort, and a positive response occurred. The same can occur with my writing or my job hustle.

I'm back on the writing train.  It's summer, I've finished a short story, and will start submitting it to different outlets.  Will I fail--maybe...but probably not.  The important thing is I will never know if I don't try.  

I'm going to keep grinding, and I hope that you are going to do the same--Keep Grinding!  You may have some fails, and they maybe ultimate internet worthy...however, keep going, keep grinding until you find your success.  

Remember you can follow me on twitter @former402poet or on instagram @poet402.  Thank you for taking the time to read and remember: 

YOU CAN FAIL FORWARD ALL THE TIME!! 

peace  

Failure & Success pt I

You tried to succeed at it, but didn't.  You had that fire in your belly, and had your sights on that feeling of being top dog.  You set the goal, and worked daily to make it happen.  

But for whatever reason, it didn't happen, the expected outcome didn't happen, you came up just a bit short, you failed.

So you feel bad, you feel low, you feel like  the bug, that was squashed under foot of the goal you just failed.  

• You have the right to feel that way.  
• You have the right to be angry.  
• You have the right to work, get up, and try again

Failing sucks.  But it is an occurrence that happens in the present, it is up to you to ensure that it is placed in past, and not an occurrence that happens in the future.  We all have had experiences in which we didn't come out on top. 

However those who have experienced success, has gotten back up.

It is the "get up,"get back", and "get them" mentality that you have to have. Not only when it comes to failure, but in life.  Trying new things is a part of life. Trying new things and succeeding in them, or failing is also part of it.  

If you allow the possibility of failure to end your decision to try something new, then  you've failed!  We learn in our failures, we find out what doesn't work in our failures, we see what we've done wrong.  

In success we apply these lessons correctly, and the outcome is vastly different.

So get out there and try!  Get out there, try and fail!  Get out there, try, fail, & learn.  Once you learn how to succeed, then you will--indefinitely!  I know you can, now it's just up to you to believe!