Books

7 Poems To Motivate You To Be Your Most Badass Self This Week
person with dog sitting on a rock in the mountains
Aleksander Rubtsov/Image Source/Getty Images

Even the most imaginative, productive, talented of us readers sometimes struggle to stay motivated. And, as you probably know, feeling that sense of ennui come over you isn't pretty. It's literally the worst. It's like driving toward an intersection where you know there's truly no way to stop and, thus, you're forced to go through the red. With red-light cameras present. In a rental car. The day of your period. When you ran out of products.

There's no use in dwelling on the lameness of being unmotivated, though, because there are plenty of wonderful resources available to help you work through your block--or prevent you from having one in the first place. Life coach Stacia Pierce stresses making a practice out of positivity. In addition to beginning your day with affirmations and keeping company with upbeat folks, Pierce also details the importance of reading:

"Read and listen to positive information. If you fill your mind with uplifting and inspiring information, it will keep you motivated ... find at least one book on a positive topic that will give you a boost. You need constant reminders telling you that you are capable of achievement."

In short, stop beating yourself up! Let these 7 poems cheer you on.

"One Day" by Ana Martins Marques

We didn’t sleep;
we believed the night
could be replaced by coffee
and it was
our round heads
under a round moon

Click here to read.

"The Waking" by Theodore Roethke

I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I feel my fate in what I cannot fear.
I learn by going where I have to go.

Click here to read.

"How To Froth Myth and Witness the Birth of a Goddess: 6 Steps." by Florence Lenaers

Watch as a brand new goddess rises from the foam, ready to trigger
a cult, a strife, a myth.

Click here to read.

"No Hands" by Carol Muske-Dukes

Downward, fast—
so what cannot stop holds on, holds on
in a mind flying away from itself, seeking
release from the soul speeding away, yet
staying close as breath, even at this distance.

Click here to read.

"Witch Wife" by Kiki Petrosino

I conjure with my pink-and-green gloves
wrangling life from the dirt. It all turns out
as I'd hoped.

Click here to read.

"That Everything's Inevitable" by Katy Lederer

In the temper and the tantrum, in the well-kept arboretum
I am waiting, like an animal,
For poetry.

Click here to read.

"Lift Every Voice and Sing" by James Weldon Johnson

Out from the gloomy past,
Till now we stand at last
Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.

Click here to read.