Own The Sky – I wrote this poem back in 2014! Original post here: https://msmoem.com/2014/poetry-2/spread-your-wings/
I keep seeing it being shared, though it has sadly lost credit along the way. It’s bittersweet. Even so, it’s still pretty special to see people quoting it alongside their instagram pictures.
Incidentally, if you’d like to keep up with my poetry on instagram, come and find me @msmoem.
Here are a few examples of my poem out in the wild. Bonus points go to the few lovely souls who have indeed tagged me in which makes me happy:
It is so important if you see some words you like that someone else has taken the time to write, to remember to attribute the work to the author. You wouldn’t take a painting and claim to have created it yourself. Artforms like poetry are in the same category.
Without sounding all woe is me, it can be hard as a poet to find your place in the world to be heard. And that aside, it’s really just manners. I love it when people share my work, I really do. It is an absolute privilege. However when it is left uncredited or worse still, recreated and someone else has stuck their brand on it (yes, this has happened! and polite requests to add credit were ignored 🙁 ) it disconnects me from valuable feedback that I use to help better my craft.
Anyway, it is still extremely flattering to see my words travel so widely. And really, being read is more important than acclaim. Even if just one person appreciates your art, then that’s another strand to your rainbow!
I’m not anti-sharing, I’m really not. In fact I encourage. Just link a girl up, just sayin’! 🙂
Anyway, if you ever do want to share any of my poems, please do #hashtag or @at me @msmoem. You can find me on instagram, youtube, pinterest and facebook.
To sum up, sharing with credit = good, omitting or taking credit = bad.
And to end on a positive note…
Spread your wings and keep flying!
#OwnTheSky
In a funny way, the words themselves have done exactly what I wrote. Out there owning the sky all by themselves. That’s a thought to leave me with a smile.