Exposed
By E. Izabelle Cassandra Alexander
Explore,
Intensify,
Expose…
I gravitate toward the zenith of love,
as lilt and ebullient;
a survivor of lost causes,
broken dreams, and
renewed hope.
The meaning we fathom dissolved into nothingness.
The plans men make God straightens into roads of sorrow,
fields of struggles,
paths no one would want to follow,
but by the end,
we are at peace
with the lessons we learned,
longing no more for change, nor for something different;
we live with ease.
This life can satisfy
and release
the pain within.
Anxieties of tomorrow,
regrets of past mistakes and choices are
exposed like a gaping hole.
My heart is open, and I fear no more.
Exploring into the abyss of my mind,
intensified, electrified, and sometimes abandoned
but live.
Still, breathe
and love.
A sensation of elation fills my chest, and
the resonant swaying of love floating up to my throat reverberates
so I can speak the mellifluous words to soothe your sadness,
your insecurities, your lost dreams.
What I would give to fill you with my peace,
my vibrant force of life.
To color your world
and help you see the wonder of your being,
the love you could still possess and share.
You’re the soul to whom I’m connected
no matter how, at times, you criticize and hurt me with your words.
You will always be a stronghold to whom I’m bound by a silver cord—
I’ll never leave your essence in the past
thus I’m a part of you,
and you’re within my DNA.
Expose the hurts of yesterday.
Explore the blessings of tomorrow.
Intensify the grief of loss and the pleasure of what still can be!
I’ll always love you,
and I shout
that by your side, I learned to stand on my own
to become the woman who won’t back down out of weakness,
only out of love and
respect.
Who will not bend until the breaking point,
but who could withstand the storms
and watch the raindrops roll,
unshaken, unashamed, full of life even amid anguish.
Exposing the flesh of my heart and mind,
my essence
which intertwined with you before birth—in your womb,
we were as one—and which will never truly separate me from your being,
thus I will cherish the best of you and forgive the worst.
Exploring the threads that tie me to you,
I reach out to hold you dear and near.
I worship the years you lead me, shedding your tears and blood to protect,
satisfying my child-heart, you loved with all of your heart.
I will stand for you,
for my children,
my loved ones,
for the meek and feeble,
and for myself in
God for His glory,
truly satisfied,
without reservation
Exploring you,
Intensified, and
Exposed…
The Author
E. Izabelle Cassandra Alexander was born and raised in a little village in Hungary. After immigrating to the US, she first lived in New York. There she graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s in Information Systems from Monroe College before moving to Chicago, where she earned her MBA in Business from Webster University.
In 2013, Izabelle refocused to pursue her life-long dream of writing and began taking writing classes at Oakton Community College and online. Since then, she’s been a member of numerous writing and poetry groups, attending workshops and conferences, reading at Oakton's Beautiful Minds events, and at the Des Plaines Public Library's NaNoWriMo Showcase, continuously updating her writing and editing skills. She’s a single mother. Nature and animal lover.
Izabelle writes short stories, creative nonfiction essays, flash fiction, plays, and poetry. Also, she’s currently working on a few novels and a series of children’s books along with illustrations.
Publications
Several of her fiction, creative nonfiction essays, and poetry have been published in Spark Literary Journal, a print literary journal, in 2016, 2018, and 2019, and forthcoming in 2020, as well as by The Scarlet Leaf Review on their website in 2018 and in their March 2020 issue. By the Illinois State Poetry Society (ISPS) on their website in 2017, 2018, and in the ISPS print anthology, Distilled Lives, Volume 4, 2018. Also, in Yearning to Breathe Free, a print anthology by Moonstone Art Center, 2019. By WOW! Women on Writing, 2019 & 2020, in The Book Smuggler’s Den, 2019, by Tint Journal, 2020, in Ariel's Dream Literary Journal, 2020 & 2021, Unlimited Literature Magazine (UL-Mag), 2020 & 2021, by Ariel Publishing on their website in 2020, in Pages & Spine, 2020, in Literary Excellence, 2020 & 2021, and more.
Honorable Mentions, Runner Up, and Finalist
She won Runner Up status with her flash fiction “Fragments of Bones” in a contest by WOW! Women on Writing in 2019, and with her creative nonfiction essay "Why I Hate Yellow Peas" in April 2020. An interview was published by WOW in The Muffin on January 14, 2020, and another one forthcoming in June. Her creative nonfiction essays “Disciplined Discipline” (2017) and “My First Camel Ride” (2019), and her flash fiction “Invisible Love” (2018), “Drowning Under Pressure” (2020), “Yellow Carnations” (2020), and "Love and Beyond" each received an Honorable Mention in contests by WOW! Women on Writing while they chose many of her flash and creative nonfiction pieces as finalists.
In The New York City Midnight Challenge Flash Fiction Contest, she won the first round within her tier with her flash fiction titled “What Eyes Can’t See” in 2018 and third place with her flash "Lake Slowfall" in 2020. Several of her poems, fiction, creative nonfiction essays, and plays had been selected by Oakton Community College over the last six years as a finalist to represent them in the annual Skyway Competitions (eight community colleges competing).
To Reach Her
You can find a full list of Izabelle's publications on her website: izabelle2012.wixsite.com/Izabelle
Connect with her on Facebook: fb.me/E.IzabelleAlexander and Twitter.com/IzabelleAlexan3
Support her work on Patreon at www.patreon.com/IzabelleAlexander
E. Izabelle Cassandra Alexander