The Step Of Reflection (Louis Toliver Jr)

As I climbed towards a light,

On the steps of my life given to me,

Struggle and weariness had compelled me to stop.

Though I was lacking might,

I ignored them and breathed freely.

Only through breathing could I make it to the top.

As I stood on this step before I went onward,

I felt compelled to look back.

The previous steps descended into a dark fiction.

Truth is what I wanted and why I must go forward.

Truth is my ambition to stay on track.

Under my feet, I found this step was named “Reflection.”

What I saw now on this step in myself,

I could not have seen then.

I looked up and the light in front of me made sense.

Fiction, with its struggle and weariness, had poisoned part of my self,

But the antidote of strength and patience always win.

I bring those two with me up the remaining steps as my defense.

As I left the step of Reflection, I knew that it would return.

It is the only step that repeats when you need to learn.

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Louisiana Words Remembers Jorge Arturo

There’s nothing that hurts more than when we lose someone from our Louisiana Words family. But, the beauty of our writing movement is that the words of our loved ones live on with us. On June 20th, 2023, Louisiana Words Allstar, Jorge Arturo, moved on from this world leaving our hearts broken. He was a charismatic and talented human being. Jorge resided in New Orleans, LA and had been active on Louisiana Words for over a year. To honor Jorge’s life and work, we will be sharing his writing and live performances all Summer 2023. Please help keep his spirit alive by sharing his work. We know that Jorge’s words will connect with our readers and we hope to keep his spirit alive. Jorge’s first submission: “The Dog Show” debuted on February 6th, 2022 and is his most successful piece to date. In 2022, Jorge spent 10 weeks in the top with “The Dog Show,” “Weavers,” “They Say Love Kills, This Time It Really Did,” and “If Hell is Real, It Looks Like an Airport.” His la...

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