Author: Tosha Michelle

Poet. Author. Podcast host- Chit Chat Chicks. MS Purdue. Proponent of words, creativity, kindness, and humanity.

The River 

Published on by Tosha Michelle37 Comments


So many things in life are temporal,
even friendship and love
Yet we never stop searching for
someone to hold onto when the
streets flood and our peace
becomes a distant shore.

We still love, love even when
we have no boat and are left
with one cracked paddle.
We remember times better
The days of umbrellas
and raincoats
Splashing in the mud.
The days before
the river overflowed
The backyard deep with
water and regret.
Sunken hope and sunflowers
crushed

We recall only the beauty
of an embrace,
the lovely cadence of 
heartfelt laughter.
We find a bittersweet solace
in the pain of two souls divided
Tossed in different directions.
We wonder why we were
chosen to live
this life and not another.
Why do foundations slide?
Why do rivers flood?

Then left with the morning after,
we know we must put our
questions aside, understanding
that enduring loss sometimes
is the only way to start over
We clean up, rebuild.
taking note of the
sunshine and bright skies
And if we’re lucky we finally 
find the warmth that’s meant
only for us.

-Tosha Michelle

If you liked to help children in SC and NC effected by Hurricane Florence, you can donate here:

HURRICANE FLORENCE CHILDREN’S RELIEF FUND

Just A Thought 

Published on by Tosha Michelle35 Comments

Due to the current political climate in America, I’ve watched myself become increasingly more angry and disillusioned. I was finally able to take a step back this weekend and realize how unhealthy that is. It’s so easy to let bitterness take over, not just with politics but in our personal life too. We always want someone to blame, but usually the fault doesn’t belong solely to one person.

Extremism whether in politics, religion, personal relationships, or social movements is dangerous. It creates this hostile environment where resentment breeds. It eats away at compassion and tolerance . There becomes this “us against them mentality”. There’s no room for shades of gray. People are either good or bad. Victim or villain. It’s ironic, given that we see ourselves as so progressive and forward thinking.

Extremism doesn’t provide clarity. It simply blurs lines, the line between civility and chaos, the line between sexual assault and harassment, the line between misogyny and chivalry, the line between what’s actually right and our need to be right. We must remember that rarely are people all good or all bad. We are all flawed, we all make mistakes. Imagine, if we could look beyond political and religious affiliations, beyond race and gender, and just see the humanity that resides in all of us.

I’m tired of defining myself as a Democratic liberal. I’m tried of seeing Republicans as the evil enemy. We as people are so much more than how we vote, or our gender, or who we pray or don’t pray too. I’m tried of labels and assertions based on emotions instead of facts. Yes, we have to fight injustice and follow our moral compass, but if we lose sight of our humanity in the process, than we’re no better than the injustices we are fighting.

End rant.

This blog will return to poetry on Wed.

“This Is Us”

Published on by Tosha Michelle4 Comments


If you haven’t seen NBC’s  “This Is Us” you are missing out on one of the best shows on TV. The plot centers around married couple Jack and Rebecca Pearson and their 3 children. The timeline shifts between the present and the past. You’ll see the children as adults with significant others and kids of their own. We live in an era where so many television series appeal to our sense of adventure, but “This is Us” goes straight for our heartstrings . This is a show all about the beauty and messiness that is family. It will make you appreciate your own in all their imperfect, perfect glory. Sometimes, in this fast-paced world,  I think we lose sight of just how important family is and those complex ties that bind, sometimes bend, but never break. It’s nice to be reminded to hold close and cherish those who are dear to us. Family in some ways is forever, no matter how you define it. 

“This Is Us” themes of love, suffering, happiness, forgiveness, the passing of time, really speak to the human condition. Who hasn’t wanted to punch their sibling in the nose, only to turn around and hug then a minute later? Who hasn’t experienced heartbreak or fallen in love completely? Who hasn’t felt nostalgic for younger days, or found a new appreciation for their parents seeing them through grown up eyes?  “This Is Us” is all of us, mother, father, son, daughter,  brother, sister, husband, wife. It’s a show about commitment, kinship, romantic love, the love of family, and just how sacred life can be. Warning, you can’t watch the show and not cry.   Here’s the trailer for season one. See after quotes. Just last night, season three began. I was fully stocked up on tissues. 
Some of my favorite quotes from the show

Season one trailer 

She Used To Be Mine

Published on by Tosha Michelle33 Comments

I love this song so much. See below. It’s so very relatable. I feel it to my core every time I listen to it. We all have times in our lives where we lose ourselves and feel a disconnect from the person we use to be.I’ve been there. It’s incredibly painful. Life can be so unpredictable and hard. Thankfully, it can be really beautiful too.

 “She Used To Be Mine” is from the Broadway musical Waitress which was adapted from the 2007 film, that starred Keri Russell. Both the film and the musical are excellent. The Youtube is from the 2016 Tony Awards and it will bring tears to your eyes. It’s just that powerful of a performance. 

Lyrics

It’s not simple to say
That most days I don’t recognize me
That these shoes and this apron
That place and its patrons
Have taken more than I gave them

It’s not easy to know
I’m not anything like I used be, although it’s true
I was never attention’s sweet center
I still remember that girl

She’s imperfect, but she tries
She is good, but she lies
She is hard on herself
She is broken and won’t ask for help
She is messy, but she’s kind

She is lonely most of the time
She is all of this mixed up and baked in a beautiful pie
She is gone, but she used to be mine

It’s not what I asked for
Sometimes life just slips in through a back door
And carves out a person and makes you believe it’s all true

And now I’ve got you
And you’re not what I asked for
If I’m honest, I know I would give it all back
For a chance to start over and rewrite an ending or two
For the girl that I knew
Who’ll be reckless, just enough
Who’ll get hurt, but who learns how to toughen up
When she’s bruised and gets used by a man who can’t love
And then she’ll get stuck

And be scared of the life that’s inside her
Growing stronger each day ‘til it finally reminds her
To fight just a little, to bring back the fire in her eyes
That’s been gone, but used to be mine
Used to be mine

She is messy, but she’s kind
She is lonely most of the time
She is all of this mixed up and baked in a beautiful pie
She is gone, but she used to be mine

Songwriters: Sara Bareilles

She Used to Be Mine lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
In honor of the girl I used to be, I have brought back my bangs or fringe as the British say. It was time for a change. A new hair beginning. Ha!

Storybook Endings 

Published on by Tosha Michelle25 Comments

When I was a child
how I love to dress
my face in a book.
Entering worlds I’ve
never known.
I’d hide behind the cover.
discovering secret gardens,
children in boxcars, and
little women decked out
in petticoats.

On summer nights when
I could be coaxed out of
the books I loved.
My brother and I would
chase fireflies and play
Mother May I under
the backyard lights.

We were safe then under
the stars and constellations.
These were the years of
innocence and freedom

As a child you don’t notice
things like the moon losing
itself to the sky, or the cold
touch of the air.

As an adult you’re more apt
to notice the bee, the sting
the thorn, the horsewhip
Yet there’s still the beauty
of stories in a book and
nature’s sweet allure .

Sitting on a porch swing
the wind blowing hazily
Losing yourself in words
The call of distant shores,
The lure of courtships and
rosehip. In these times the
world brightens. The mind
alive with a gentle pitch
No need to rush or fuss
The sun refuses to faltered
Your soul becomes supernatural
Life’s frailties for a moment abated .

-Tosha Michelle


The ending of this video is perfection (as the music ends and the last chapter begins). 💕

She Carries On

Published on by Tosha Michelle45 Comments


She’s been taken down
by the moon.

Forgotten by the air.
The stars affixed to some
other someone had no time
to care

She’s felt her soul.
break, then drop.

There’s been pain
and muted mutters.

Her life madness-
after-hours spent
after wishing.

There’s a ditch
and then the digging out.
only to find some jerk
is burning brush at the top.

She’ll turn the seared ashes
into shimmer and lace.
with a smirk and a wink.
she tears the wolves apart.

Knowing there’s still time for
another dance, another daring kiss.

Life is all in the darkening.
The brightening.

Her eyes lit.
Her face flush.

She wraps herself
in flames and carries on.

-Tosha Michelle 

Something Different 

Published on by Tosha Michelle5 Comments

I think Jimmy Kimmel is my new favorite Jimmy. Sorry Fallon. I love his friendship with Sarah Silverman. They’re the cutest ex couple ever, I swear Sarah is aging backwards. 47 and she looks bettet than ever.  Anyway, this clip just makes me happy. I’m so easy to please at times,  The “woke Jimmy” part cracks me up, Have a wonderful Saturday. 💕

The Remains 

Published on by Tosha Michelle34 Comments

image

The ones I love,
and have been
blessed to keep,
are sleeping
as night’s low
pitch hums slowly
fades.

I walk along the lake
with only the birds
to keep me company.
The clouds sticky,
but devoid
of cotton candy,
offer no sweetness.
I move through stony colors,
a stillness in my
soul.

The water churns,
dark froth travels
in its wake.
I cry for some
inexplicable reason.

Through my tears,
I stare out into
the silence,
and think of those
who make me the happiest.
And then I wonder
about those
who have come
and gone.
The ones I have lost,
lost loves, lost friends,
a litany of history.

Memories reclaim
me for a moment.
Has life carried
them where they
want to be?
Does the dusty world
ever taunt them, too?
Do they ever
wonder why time
offers no explanation
for grief and regret?
Do they ever weep
because whatever
we’re made of,
we can never alter
the ticking clock’s
hands.

I hope that there’s
a table set somewhere
for them, and morning kisses
to greet them.

The past opens quickly,
but recedes just as
fast.

I pick a dying
wild flower from its
sidewalk home,
just as a boat
heads off into the gray,
brushed stroke
of the mist.
A lone crow
plummets toward it,
like granite.
The first faint orange
spot appears in the
sky.

Lifting my chin to the sun,
to brightness.
I discard the unbreathable,
dizzy smell of nostalgia.

I bathe in the now,
and wash my soul
in today’s syllables

Thankful for what was,
but even more grateful
for those that remain 
I know without them,
the air would taste
like nothingness.

Standing on the bridge
in the space between
yesterday and today.
I walk back toward
the scent of nectar,
of happiness
Eating up the sunshine
while I still can.

-Tosha Michelle