Empire Amethyst: A Harmoniously Blended Poetry Collection: Light, Love, and Madness

By Carmen F. Zumot

Empire Amethyst is a journey through themes of light, love, and madness with author Carmen F. Zumot. An abstract autobiography through the lens of poetry, her debut work as a poetess is raw, vulnerable, and mystical. Think of a yin yang symbol come to life. Each word rich with depth dancing from page to page, moments of humor laced with grace, a passionate desire to harmonize the dualities that plague us, will leave you breathless, mesmerized, and captivated. Journey with her on a poetic exploration that will open your eyes, heart, and mind. Her ability to express her emotions in lyrical prose will leave the reader seduced with each beautiful expression.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Resource Publications
• Release date: Jun 8, 2021
• ISBN: 9781666712728

Carmen F. Zumot

Carmen F. Zumot is a creative spiritual director and international tour operator, sending thousands of people around the world for spiritual journeys throughout the year. Carmen has attended university with focuses on film and creative writing. Her life’s mission is to create art through the mediums of film, writing, travel, spirituality, and the fusion of them all. She is an Arab-American full of life, uniqueness, vibrancy, and a love of kindness.

Book preview

Prologue

It was the first week of April 2020. The world was in lockdown. Fear, anxiety, confusion and a whirlwind of complex emotions the world collectively faced. I am an eternal optimist. I rallied to keep my spirits high and the spirits of those around me. 2019 was my most successful year professionally in my business. The tourism industry had reached its peak and 2020 was set to be another outstanding year. My team and I, pre-COVID, sent thousands of pilgrims around the globe each year for spiritual journeys. The foundation of the business was created by my father, and its legacy is carried on by me. For over a decade I dedicated my life to the business and was raised within it. It is another family member. It is our labor of love. Our tours came to an abrupt halt by the middle of March 2020. We believed it would be short-lived, but little did we know a year later we still would remain in a holding pattern.

In the first week of April, the core of the lockdown, the tulips in my garden were in full bloom. Every morning, despite the uncertainty the world faced, the one certainty I held dear was my beautiful tulips that greeted me every morning as I looked out the window with hope. I had commissioned a musician to play music for my neighbors as they sat on their porches and lawns and for neighbors walking through the neighborhood during a hauntingly beautiful spring. It was my way to spread joy during an unusual time. I sat in my yard, next to my tulips, listening to him play, distanced from all other human beings, looking on with gratitude for the hopeful sounds in the chaos. He played again the following weekend as we all remained confined to our homes, still spinning in the uncertainty.

The days in between the two musical experiences, a strong storm came in. Not unusual for Atlanta in the spring and summer seasons. The wind came in with gusts so strong it blew the tulip bulbs from their stems and the yard was covered in petals, a sort of beautiful destruction. In witnessing this I fell to my knees and released a deep wail. Tears streaming powerfully down my face, body shaking, and I felt, for the first time, complete grief for the reality the world