DTN / Tombstone

There are so many talented and skilled writers that I know that dabble in poetry but their strong suits (and hearts) are elsewhere. Despite this being a poetry podcast, I still want to highlight them and their super amazing work.

And my dear friend Kiana is the perfect example of that. Ki and I met about two or three mutuals and immediately bonded over our love for writing. Majority of this episode is me agreeing with everything she says because we align on the reasons we write and share our work.

Ki’s specialty is horror which is cool in and of itself but also something that i don’t think I could do. So I wanted to talk to Ki about how she got into writing. I absolutely adored this conversation because we never talked about our writing origin stories before so it was cool to hear how she started and what inspired her to start sharing.

I especially loved how she described being authentic in her work and appreciated hearing about dealing with burnout as a writer.

About Kiana

Kiana, also known by her pseudonym Kai Metis, has been writing since she could comprehend storytelling (about 13 years). She enjoys all things Horror, paranormal, psychological and things that disturb the normal. She loves poetry but story writing has her heart as it allows her to think outside of the box, using real life experiences to make fiction come alive.

THE POEM

dtn

i wish i could kill you
i mean the thought of you
i wish you could plant yourself in the back of my mind but only this time to die

i know how it sounds
but when your absence haunts me i’d rather call ghostbusters then my therapist 

but it’s gotten so bad that the only person i can talk to is my notes app
and it’s spitting a pain back to me 
that i’d rather choke on

maybe i’m not made for this lover girl shit
but my social battery is real low
i’ve been in the streets too long and i wanna go home

your voice rings bells in my head
and i’ll gladly leave the door unlocked for you

tombstone

“used to” implies that what we have is dead
and, sure, i’d love to take my little shovel and dig it from the soil i wet my tears with
but sometimes i feel like i should just let the flowers bloom…

sometimes i feel like i placed myself under my own tombstone
especially when my only desire is unattainable 
i am sadly attached to this dying world and yet i get called selfish …
for reaching for the stars too early
for wanting Death to be by my side as i’m bed bound
you can’t blame me when He was my only visitor 

like a lost soul, your body will haunt me. 
my love for you is like a corpse, 
my body the casket. 
our love will rot. 

THE INTERVIEW

• 0:04 → Can you tell us a little about yourself and how you first got into writing poetry?

• 1:03 → What did you start off writing?

• 2:05 → Do you remember the first poem you ever wrote? What inspired it?

• 3:23 → Was there a particular moment or experience that made you realize poetry was for you?

• 4:34 → What inspires you most when writing poetry? Are t here specific experiences, emotions, or even other poets that influence your work?

• 6:27 → Do you take inspiration from your dreams?

• 7:11 → How do you balance the desire to be authentic in your work with the vulnerability that comes with sharing personal experiences?

• 8:10 → Do you go back and edit?

• 9:05 → Do you think your first drafts are fully finished or have you said all you needed to say?

• 10:40 → Are there any other reasons that you share your poetry? Is there something specific you want your readers to take away from them?

• 12:00 → Can you walk me through your creative process?

• 15:02 → How do you handle writer’s block, if you ever experience it?

• 17:40 → Do you have any tips that helped you grow as a writer?

• 18:40 → How has your writing style changed over the years?

THE PROMPTS

• Journal Prompt: Write a letter to a thought or memory you'd like to let go of, expressing everything you’ve been unable to say.

• Journal Prompt: Have you ever felt haunted by a memory, person, or feeling? How have you learned to live with or release it?

• Poetry Prompt: Use the metaphor of a locked or unlocked door to express vulnerability and emotional openness.

• Poetry Prompt: Use the imagery of flowers blooming from a grave to explore themes of grief, growth, and letting go.

• Writing Prompt: Write a story where a character’s emotions manifest physically as a garden, cemetery, or some other landscape.

• Writing Prompt: Write about a ghost that isn’t a person but an emotion, habit, or memory that lingers.