Rise Up
By Mikayla Augustin
Poetry is an art that explains feelings in a different way. It’s a type of dialect. When you can’t really say something straight out but you have to get it out, or when you just feeling some type of way and just want to speak out—you can rant, encourage, argue, let out frustrations, and more. It’s not just about catching people’s ears, but about letting out your feelings, and all poets are trying to do is make you feel or just make you understand. That’s what I’m trying to do. Make you feel or at least just understand.
Sometimes the rain
Light or heavy
takes out the
silence
audio shut
off
quiet
things flow
to dark
I get lost
in the shadows
Realization hits me
There’s no
escaping
i speak
up
Imma be
a gold bond
no one can
touch
own this rain
turn it into
power itself
I
can’t
give up
gotta rise
up
Process
The process of how my multimedia project came about is quite random but heartfelt. I picked an erasure poem, because poetry is what I’m really in Girls Write Now for, and I know it’s something my heart would have to make. I knew once it was finished it’d be made without thinking but full of meaning. I didn’t really realize how hard it would be, but it was worth it in the end, and all I had to do was listen in and try to zoom in on a picture already painted by me.
Meet the Pair
MENTEE MIKAYLA AUGUSTIN & MENTOR KATE RILEY
Mikayla’s Anecdote: Writing with my mentor is absolutely amazing. It’s almost like exploring your very first fair or amusement park and being ready to ride anything. At first, I honestly didn’t know what to expect, but as I opened myself up, I was taught to be brave, funny, and creative; and I was encouraged through it all. It’s because of my mentor Kate and all we did for the sake of our pair writing, our other projects, and just for the sake of trying new things.
Kate’s Anecdote: The Girls Write Now algorithm kicked out a winning combination when I was matched with Mikayla. While she was somewhat soft-spoken at first, we got over that real quick. She attacked our first workshop assignment by interviewing me, drafting a profile, and bravely sharing it with the room. And she continues to impress by voicing her ambitions, frustrations, and visions of a better world over ramen and tacos. Her powerful poetry is where she has chosen to tackle knotty social issues, and I’m grateful to have been part of that journey.
Mikayla Augustin
Mikayla Augustin is a class of 2020 Girls Write Now mentee based in Queens, NY.
