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About Toi

It’s time to bloom!

Just a head’s up… I’m going to talk about my Patreon plans for the next week. After that, you’ll never hear about it again unless you want to be part of it. With that said, I’m so excited to share what I’m doing.

So, hope you saw my other post related to this, but if not, check out The Dreaded Newsletter: part 1 and part 2 here. Needless to say, Patreon is not a newsletter and I don’t expect people who’ve been following me for free for years to all of a sudden start paying for my content. Everything I’ve always done for free, I will continue to do for free.

This Patreon page is something new. This project is an opportunity for me to create something for someone else, a chance to create something with someone else, and a chance to help others create something they’ve always wanted to.

My intent is to start with family, friends, and associates to build a community and hopefully grow from there. It is my hope to share my process with a community that’s invested in my success. I want to share my strengths and weaknesses as I strive to entertain. I want to share positive and negative critiques that come along the way and I want to take reader feedback seriously as I strive to create stories that readers want to read.

And while I don’t claim to be a master of anything, I’ve been writing, blogging, publishing, creating video content, and more for over ten years and feel that I have insights to offer someone just starting out. I believe I can help others avoid mistakes I’ve made and teach a few things I’m actually pretty good at. If nothing else I can point someone in the right direction to find all the experts and sources I lean on every day.

This is not something I plan to do for a few months to see if it works out. This is something I plan to pursue moving forward. I’m excited about the possibilities. I’m excited about the possibility to bloom as a creator in a way I never imagined.

Below you’ll find the introduction video that will appear on my Patreon page when it launches on January 1st. I’ll be back tomorrow to tell you, more specifically, about what I’ll be offering to my patrons.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords #blacklivesmatter

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#blacklivesmatter Fun Hops IWSG

It’s Been So Long #WEPFF Challenge featuring Unmasked #amwriting #flashfiction

Well, here I am posting late to a challenge that really isn’t a challenge. This month’s W.E.P. challenge is very laid back. Post if you want anytime you want. No prizes, just fun, and fellowship, and the joy of stories. To say it’s been a rough year seems unnecessary and yet it’s the reason my entries have been very different. Still, I’m happy for the chance to share. I look forward to seeing everyone for a fresh start in 2021.

 

It’s Been So Long

Photo by 4TH FINGERSTUDIOS from Pexels.com

It’s been so long, so long since I’ve worn this mask.
It’s been so long since I’ve heard my own truth- it was simply too taboo.
I’ve worn this mask to survive and to get by, but now…

They say it’s important for me to unmask.
They say it’s important to talk about the brutality and rape that shaped my lineage.
They say it’s important to talk about the miles of struggles and years of pain still seeking equality.

It’s been so long, so long since I’ve worn this mask.
It’s been so long since I’ve seen my own truth- it simply wasn’t safe.
I’ve worn this mask to survive and to get by, but now…

They say it’s safe for me to unmask.
They say it’s safe for me to speak languages that now feel foreign on my own tongue.
They say it’s safe for me to tell stories from the Mother country and remember gods I don’t even worship anymore.

It’s been so long, so long since I’ve worn this mask.
It’s been so long since I’ve seen my own truth- it simply wasn’t acceptable.
I’ve worn this mask to survive and to get by, but now…

They say it’s okay for me to unmask.
They say it’s okay to take off the wig of straight hair and let my thick locs breathe.
They say it’s okay for me to wear bright colors and short skirts despite how dark my skin is and curvy my hips are.

It’s been so long, so long since I’ve worn this mask.
It’s been so long since I’ve seen my own truth- it simply wasn’t desirable.
I’ve worn this mask to survive and to get by, but now…

They say it’s good for me to unmask.
They say it’s good for me to smile and inhale no matter how big my lips are or how much my nostrils flare.
They say it’s good for me to sing soulfully even if they can’t relate to what I’m saying.

It hasn’t been that long, that long since I didn’t have to change or hide everything about myself just to get by.
It hasn’t been that long- my mask feels safe and I’m afraid to be me.
Perhaps the mask is still serving its purpose.

380 words- NCCO- It’s Been So Long 2020 Copyright © Toinette J. Thomas

If you want to see other stories for the December prompt, be sure to click the image above to check out the comments of the W.E.P. December 1st post throughout the month.

 

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords #blacklivesmatter

Categories
#blacklivesmatter Fun Hops IWSG

Grave Mistake #WEPFF Challenge featuring Home Wasn’t Safe For Us #amwriting #flashfiction

Grave Mistake Runner-up badge
Updated 11/10/20- I’m honored by this award and encourage you to click this image to see the other winners.

 

Today is my birthday and while I’m blessed to be alive and appreciate my loving family, I don’t really feel like celebrating today. Still, I did already have a small celebratory gathering with just immediate family over the weekend. As with my last two posts, I struggled to contribute this month but decided that since the invitation was there, I’d share what’s been on my mind. If you’re not interested in reading any more of my “expressions of social mourning” as it relates to Black Lives Matter, I’ve listed the blog hop link first so you can easily enjoy the other entries. If you’re set on reading what I have to share, I thank you for your time. Please scroll past the list to find my October contribution.

Home Wasn’t Safe For Us

We were home- the place we thought was safe.

You get up every day and face the dangers of the world: rage drivers, hostile bystanders who don’t like people who look like you walking through their neighborhood, jealous neighbors trying to hold you down because you have a plan to rise up and do better for yourself, and old family and friends who keep bringing their problems and their drama to your door.

But once you are inside and you’ve closed the door, you take a deep breath and rest because you think you’re safe. You never find out just how wrong you are until it’s too late.

She was everything. A light in the dark and a ray of hope to all who knew her. Everyone was rooting for her. We all knew she was going to make something of herself. She already was. She didn’t choose an easy path, but she chose one that would truly make a difference in other people’s lives.

After a long day, 12-hour shifts are no easy feat, she deserved to come home and have a good night’s sleep. But it just wasn’t meant to be.

Sourced from Wikipedia- Breonna Taylor at a graduation ceremony in Louisville, Kentucky

We were startled- jerked from our rest. Everything was so loud, so aggressive- all happening so fast. We didn’t know what was going on. Was it someone from the past looking to shake up our lives? Was it someone who was mad that for the first time we could easily pay our bills? Was it someone high and wacked out just looking to hurt someone for no reason?

I know now it was my fault. I was stupid. I made the grave mistake that took her life. I was foolish enough to believe that 2nd Amendment right applied to a black man living in the hood. I was wrong, trying to protect her- wasn’t even thinking about myself, and yet she’s the one who’s gone.

Five times they shot her and walked away. No one looked at her, checked her pulse, or even counted the bullet holes. She lay there, gurgled blood, and slept with her eyes open- frozen in fear and shock. After a long day’s work trying to make an American dream come true that was never meant for her, she finally got to sleep.

I never should have tried to protect us. If only I’d let the door burst open and taken a few of the shots too, perhaps she and I would be together. Sleeping together forever after a long day’s work- dreaming about that American fantasy we would never have.

All I can do now is say her name. Every day, I say her name to remind me of my mistake- my foolishness.

Breonna. Breonna. Breonna.

A “fictionalized first-person” account of what happened just after midnight on March 13, 2020 in Louisville, Kentucky. Mr. Walker, Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend, who tried to protect their home was charged with attempted murder of a police officer, but the charges were later dropped.

NCCO- 496 words- Home Wasn’t Safe For Us 2020 Copyright © Toinette J. Thomas

Read this article by The New York Times.com to learn more.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords #blacklivesmatter