Little Pink Dress: From the Closet to the Runway: Lessons on Loving All of Me

By Monsurat Ottun

The spirit of a woman is amazing and yet often times misunderstood. We are multi-dimensional, unique and come in all different forms. At times, we lose our sense of self and forget to appreciate those things about us that make us beautiful, inspirational, strong, powerful - essentially, those things that make us who we are.

Little Pink Dress is a collection of poems that represent a coming of age story. From the Closet to the Runway, a womans journey from feeling Minimized by her past and previous encounters, and then learning to appreciate herself as she lifts her spirit into feeling Elevated. It is a journey about questioning right and wrong, good and bad, and realizing the love of self is the ultimate key to happiness.

Once we can identify and embrace our own confidence in who we are, we see that ultimately we can be our own best friend, princess charming, girlfriend. We are the key to our destiny. And that is what this book represents, the ability and desire to fall in love with ones self and find peace and confidence in that.

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 5, 2011
• ISBN: 9781477171097

Book preview

Copyright © 2011 by Monsurat Ottun. 86525-OTTU

ISBN: Softcover 978-1-4568-9085-8

Ebook 978-1-4771-7109-7

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

Table of Contents

Dedication

Introduction…

Prologue

Part I: Hiding in the Closet

Yesterday I Cried

Broken Wrists and Cracked Ribs

Untitled

Dedication to Mr. Anonymous

Sista 2 Sista

Protector

Pretend

Shadow

Angry

The Ways of a Woman

Damaged

Invisible Woman

Minimized

Passionate

My Sentiments Exactly...

Freedom

Punishment

Fear...

For Granted

The Dream

When A Woman Loves

Hourglass Figure

The Game…The Art…Of Dancing

Body Parts

Temptation

Dearly Beloved

Meantime

Interested

A Woman’s Love

With or Without You

Still Standing

Finding Me

Therapist and Patient

Mirror

Love me again

Your Light Within

Empowered

Imagine…

Part II: I’m Coming Out!

Still Standing Cont’d

Something about Lemon & Ginger

My Song

Essence

Morning Sun

This Journey

Solitude

Euphoria

Sensual

Alter Ego

Mistake or Two

Growing Up

Whip My Hair

Raindrops

Brown Skin

Elevated

My Covenant

Dear Justice

Freestyle

Peace of Mind

Imperfect Song

Poetry

Be Yourself

Swag Back

Best Friends

My Favorite Things

African Beauty

Why Not

Beautiful Struggle

Thank You

Recources for Women

Dedication

This book of poetry is dedicated to my little sister who deserves to walk a lighter path than those of us who had to learn the hard way.

Essentially this book is dedicated to every young girl, every lady, and grown woman who has ever struggled or is struggling with her sense of self. It is no easy feat to gain self-confidence especially as we face internal and external barriers on a day to day basis. This is for every woman who has found courage and realizes that it stems not from the absence of fear but the ability to act in spite of it.

This is for anyone who has come out of an abusive situation and is able to still hold his/her head held high, embracing the idea that there is a morning after.

Lastly, this collection of poems is dedicated to poets, authors and life coaches who inspire me to be honest with myself and share what I’ve learned with others; women such as Shanelle Gabriel, Amanda Diva, my Isis Storm sisters back in Rhode Island, my dearest friend Misty Wilson, my childhood homie, Ghislaine Jean aka Tigerlily, my sisters Basirat and Michelle Ottun and my cousin Precious Kafo… and of course the greats: Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Iyanla Vanzant, Sister Souljah…and so many more.

Introduction…

They say every woman should own a little black dress, a dress that keeps her prepared for just about any occasion.

What about the little pink dress, the one that says, I’m here and I’m not going anywhere! For me, the pink dress represents confidence and a coming into the self. The color pink personifies poise and a peace and courage that stems from within.

They say, Put some pink in your life when you want: calm feelings, to neutralize disorder, relaxation, acceptance, and contentment.

This collection of poems is a reminder to all women to put a little pink in their lives.

Often times, we as women find it easy to praise other women. We think about the things that we appreciate in our friends, mothers, sisters, aunts, and even celebrities whom we’ve never met. But as we do that, we simultaneously hone in on our own flaws, pointing out everything we don’t like about ourselves. Sometimes, those flaws have been pointed out to us by others in our lives and we take those opinions and hold tightly to them for the rest of our lives.

However, when we are able to take back the reigns and recognize that although flawed, essentially we are great human beings, we Empower ourselves and our daughters, nieces, cousins, and friends to be limitless in what we as women and young girls are able to do and accomplish.

It’s time for the little pink dress to come out of the closet, or maybe off of the rack at the mall, and become a regular outfit in our daily wardrobe rotation.

Prologue

Man:

Why must you answer everything in poetry, words, clichés, etc.?

Woman:

No response.

She sobbed and cried; and for a person who liked to tell stories, she couldn’t get herself to say a word. The longer he sat there, intense attention to her demeanor, the longer she anticipated him leaving. She longed for him to get up and walk away. For so