Featured Artist: RDB

Hi, I’m Renea.

My pronouns are she/they. I’m a bisexual, polyamorous, gender fluid, suicide and sexual assault survivor.

I’m a poet, a blogger, and a consultant. I am also a sex positive, body positive, intersectional feminist who believes in Indigenous Sovereignty, that Black Lives Matter, Trans Lives Matter, and No Human is Illegal.

Up until very recently I was an 8th grade U.S history teacher, with a bachelor’s in history and secondary education, and a master’s in antiracist pedagogy. I wrote a curriculum for my school and then decided it was time to move onto a life with my writing and my mental health as my focus.

My poetry is a reflection of my mental health, my inner self, and my sexuality; three topics that have been extremely important to forming my identity.

What does poetry mean to you?

Poetry is my interior monologue. My poems are my raw thoughts spilled directly onto paper. Without poetry I wouldn't be able to process the complexity inside my head.

What inspires your poetry?

My daily life, my emotions, my struggles, my love

Which are most important to you: (1) joy, (2) peace, (3) patience, (4) kindness, (5) self-control, (6) faithfulness, (7) gentleness, (8) love, or (9) goodness? If you can, explain why.

Love, kindness, and patience are the most important to me. They are notions that require you to have a great deal of empathy for others. I think empathy is the most important quality someone can have. 

What sort of things are you looking forward to improving this year?

I want to bring out my unique voice more in my poetry. I also would like to experiment with rhythmic poetry and songwriting.  

What is one big dream you have?

I want to publish a full book of poetry, and one day make a living as a poet. 

FRONTIER

I have extraordinarily large walls around my heart

I love openly

and often

without limit

or inhibition

but I do not let many people in

at least not very far

at least not far enough

to plumb the deepest

canyons of my

mind

which is my

soul

which is my

sex

and there are things about my body

I’m dying to teach you

but doing so would mean taking down those walls

and letting you cross a threshold

very few

have ever crossed

into a frontier

of surrender

I myself

have just started to explore

for, those extraordinarily large walls around my heart

kept me out

as effectively as they did others

and I realized I don’t even know myself

and I realized I want to get to know myself

and I realized I want you to know me too

but not to validate my existence

because I am finally starting to realize

I am worthy of knowing.

• R D B

Follow her here:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/_r_d_b__

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_r_d_b__/