Next Man Up, Poetry in Motion

Wesley Knight 0:00
This is a KU NV studios original program. The content of this program does not reflect the views or opinions of 91.5 jazz and more the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, or the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education.

Donavan LeDean 0:15
Here we go. Here we go. Move it. Move it. Move it. Yeah, beautiful, next man up, Dave.

Donavan LeDean 0:41
Hello and welcome to the show. I am your host, Donna Valley Dean, actor, author and inspirational rhythmic poets. Tune in to next minute of poetry in motion, where the mission is to promote good mental health for everyone. This poetry show will motivate, educate and inspire you with spoken word, cultural expression. We have a special guest in the building, Miss Ashina Burke, a divine feminine wellness practitioner and poet who guides women in healing trauma, reclaiming their voice and reconnecting with their divine feminine power. She is the author of her book entitled healing womb trauma with Yoni steaming, which is a guide for domestic violence survivors through her brand flower blossom, feminine care, she offers womb healing, emotional restoration and spiritual empowerment, helping women transform past wombs into personal strength, self expression and embodied feminine presence as Sheena qui, thank you for being here.

Asheena Burke 1:46
Yes, thank you, peace and blessings. Yes, you definitely laid it down.

Donavan LeDean 1:52
I'm on the road. Okay, thank you so I had the pleasure of attending a domestic violence awareness event that you and Miss Black Nevada, 2025 Miss charnae Brandon curated and hosted back in October of last year. You and charnae had definitely created a safe space for healing as women who were survivors of domestic violence had given their stories. You've had expert advice given from licensed professionals. You've had discussion panelists as well as poetry, making it clear that, hey, I've been through what you've been through. Your fight is my fight, and together, we can win this for our listeners. Elaborate on the healing experiences and services you offer through your brand flower blossom feminine care, yeah.

Asheena Burke 2:44
So what I do is I am a divine feminine healing practitioner. So I help women tap into their divine feminine energy so that they can overcome all of the trauma, the battles, the things that happen, not only through a domestic violence relationship, but things that happen to us as women in our reproductive system, and so I use the modality of Yoni steaming, which is an ancient practice, a practice that our ancestors used to keep themselves healthy, but not only that, connect spiritually and allow them to have a therapeutic Process mentally as well.

Donavan LeDean 3:18
Phenomenal. There are those who understandably yield to traumatic experiences such as domestic violence, yet you've chosen to be proactive and find solutions as a survivor of domestic violence, what were the thoughts that were going on in your mind day in, day out, while suffering through domestic violence in real time.

Asheena Burke 3:44
For me, it was stay healthy and don't self destruct going through such a traumatic period of time. That's the one thing that I saw a lot of women when they were going through it and when they came out, they came out unhealthy, they had reproductive health issues. They had a lot of mental ailments, just because going through that. I mean, you're you're going through something there that is very hard on your your mind, body and your spirit. So I did my best to stay healthy and make sure I was nourishing my body, physically, make sure I was eating the right things, but mentally as well, I was going to therapy. I was doing all the practice, the natural, holistic practices, possible.

Donavan LeDean 4:29
Being a wellness practitioner and a voice for women empowerment, what is your advice for people in general who are survivors of domestic violence and seeking solace in answers, yet feel isolated, not knowing how to go about finding help.

Asheena Burke 4:47
So the surviving part definitely give yourself time to be with yourself. It's okay. The isolation is okay. So be okay with that, because you've survived something that was. Very traumatic. You need time to yourself to rediscover yourself and just that look in the mirror and look at yourself as to who you are and what you've overcome. And so my biggest advice is, Be okay with the solitude. Be okay with the isolation. Don't stay there, of course, but take some time with yourself, Rediscover who you are, your likes, your dislikes, and really dive into your own personal healing style. The different goddess circles, circles that I host, we have healing practitioners that are in the valley that specialize in domestic violence, surviving women that actually have got gotten to the other side and they're able to be a supportive group.

Donavan LeDean 5:42
So and where can they find more about you, your book and your brand?

Asheena Burke 5:47
Yeah, so my website is flower blossom feminine care.com and then you can catch me on Instagram at Miss Ashina B and on Facebook at Miss Ashina Burke. And then I'm also a practitioner at own body village, which is our Wellness Center here in Las Vegas.

Donavan LeDean 6:06
Okay, before we let you go, I would like you to share a poem for us.

Asheena Burke 6:10
Definitely. You ready. I am ready. All right, queen, talk to her goddess. Pose. She arises with the vibrational frequency of the sun, spiritual prose, the body is the servant of the mind, cultivating the richness of the soil. Ritual worship of universal light and sacred intentions ignite with the celestial angels singing in her ear, Moon magic caresses the essence of the heavenly visions manifesting into fruition, affirming the great I Am. I Am Love, I am light, I am abundant, health, wealth and prosperity. I am activated. She is acclimating her superpowers to the 3d realm of basic interpretations, and she prays for you in her sacred tongue, dripped in melanated, starved dust, she must keep her thoughts clean to live the dream heaven on earth, aligning with yimia and Hadassah, bathing in Sweet oil, softening the wounds of the heart, paradigm shifting. You are so magnificent, your smile says So relax and receive the spiritual awareness that breathes. Goddess Pose, break free of the construct and think independently of your circumstances. Dance into your freedom. Goddess Pose, Goddess prose. Goddess knows how to heal the perpetual stagnation of her people. She's already been to hell, burned in the Deep Abyss, transmuted that energy into righteousness, and she glides into her virtuosity, stolen in the night by the bright lights, He winks pretty sweet. Nothings in her ear, tethering her to a false sense of reality. Indulge in the libation. Sip slowly, squeeze a little Limon into your water, alkalinity divinity is within the sea moss. Replenish your beauty with a green smoothie and dive deep into the sea salt. Bathe into the power of restoration to favor shrinking the open pores of deceit, manipulation, statistical abuse. You are the muse. Saturate your consciousness into established intentions of CO creating your destiny. Goddess position, leader of women, and release the shackles that imprison your mind in oppression, religious dogmatic mindsets keeping us all into a state of lack thereof. Reach for the purpose above you are a life changer. Shine the light of awareness of where you need to grow, where you need to go, what you need to know, the possibilities are infinite. Control the flow of your thought energy and all that you desire will be Goddess Pose compel me into right action. Release the past and become present. The pain stimulates the disciplinary transactions between Yahweh and you to create what is deep inside, suffocated by man made traditions that have nothing to do with raising your awareness. Take hold of your position. You are a goddess on a mission. Goddess Pose powerful.

Donavan LeDean 9:39
You heard it right here from the wellness goddess herself. Miss as Sheena Burke queen, thank you for your time.

Asheena Burke 9:46
Thank you, peace and blessings. The poets

Donavan LeDean 9:49
that will be featured on our playlist today are Chelsea Murray, Luna shy Moro, the unknown oldest, Sheldon, Alex Sebastian, Liz Prince. Stefan Pettway, Amira, Donna van Lee, Dean, Jess Flo Jenny you Dean and Zachary Gutierrez. Now let's get on with the show. This is next man up. Poetry motion. Here we go. Here we go. Next man up.

Donavan LeDean 10:19
Elena, track. I'm just trying to connect with you through storytelling. Don't tell anybody, let's go.

Donavan LeDean 10:33
It's that

Donavan LeDean 10:42
you mill to change the routine that suits me. It's fundamental to possess a routine that cultivates the cultivating the mind, the spirit, of a path of damnation. It behooves me to walk the same path that leads to salvation. Or maybe, maybe it's the corridor through today I'd rather take that chance then yield and lay. See if I lay death just one with thee. Each step I take on up the slope may cleanse this disease. Up the hill I walk, I'm rewarded with a cool breeze, rewarding me for taking a chance, a chance to be free at the hill I walk. It becomes true. It's psychological. Observing the colorful galaxies and ballots in the dusky skies. Becomes philosophical. Up the hill, I walk, the Galaxy brushes the morning blue the sun rhymes. See as it rises, the gate of the heavens opens. I slowly revive up the hill. I walk. The sun rises with warm embrace. It becomes uplifting, a force that captures me with such grace. A top of the hill I now stand. I encounter the Almighty. He gives a few words that's encouraging, repairing me for all that might be. He introduced me to his soldiers, soldiers of the heavens as the army with the knowledge and power, the equipment that means, on top of the hill, I am now strong, playful, agile at his best, ready to take on a juggernaut downhill for a promise, and tomorrow I shall not lay no rest. Yeah, that's it. That's it, right there. La, write it back. Next man up, queen, talk to her.

Chelsea Maraee 12:11
I am a Filipina, brown sugar, skin, almond eyed sight. Voice, deep, resilient and full of fight. I am a Filipina. Vocals like Whitney and Aretha, singing knees to the ground as I hum heavenly sounds. I am a Filipina. I eat with my hands dried rice on my shirt. Don't matter, because when I flirt, I am a Filipina. Wrote two pcns, twirling candles around my palms, dancing to nickling while keeping calm. I am a Filipina. Got a sister that's a nurse. She survived covid, 19 at its worst. I am a Filipina watching corrupt legal crimes. My bloodline dancing on picket lines. I am a Filipina Ruby Ibarra wraps and serenades, inspiring an era of rebelling, renegades. I am a Vegas Filipina, DJ, E, rock, B, st and P, dot, rocking these streets, their sets never flop. A Vegas Filipina follow the lights to California Hotel. If you know, you know that oxtail real well, a Vegas Filipina making something out of nothing, making space for all human race to come together, fly Birds of a feathered humanity, in our voices and our choices are clever. I am a Filipina, American. Immigrate. No hate spreading poetically, penai words, that's my fate. I am a Filipina. What are you

Donavan LeDean 13:46
next? Man up, Dave, before we go, I would like for you to share a poem for us. Ready a

Asheena Burke 14:01
mirror, talk to him. To him. I am 16, not grown, but let me tell you what's got me messed up. I've met tons of adults who tell me to stay in my place and treated me like I was grown before I had the capacity to know it was wrong, teachers that told me about their life struggles when all I wanted to do was get to the next page of the book. This isn't a poem. I'm telling you my grievances. I was in middle school when people talked to me like I was an adult, then told me to watch my tone, and I appreciate the transparency, but I wish they would have shut up. They were grown. Who do you think you are? Telling me what you think all the other students have if you're not licensed, you shouldn't diagnose. And no offense, I don't care if you're depressed when I'm trying to learn equations and want to go home. Keep it professional. A middle schooler doesn't need to know. What you got going on at home? It's insensitive, I know, but do you feel my anger? An adult told me that I remind him of his brother days later in a conversation, just to find out that man hates the same person he compared me to. So what was he really trying to tell me and excuse my lack of grace, but I'm done playing nice. A lot of people thought it meant that they could share things with me, and just because I was listening does not mean I wanted to be there. I was too young to know how to say I'm uncomfortable, and just because I'm concise does not mean I'm free therapy, communication is key so you forget there are limits to what you can share with me. For every adult that crossed my boundaries, get a grip and let me be clear with you. Figure it out yourself. I am no longer playing games with you. Ask your psychiatrist for a remedy or just do your job. Are you incompetent or pushing limits on purpose? You may think I'm disrespectful, but I'm not talking out of the side of my neck. If I'm supposed to stay in a child's place, you stay in the dolls. And let that line be said,

Donavan LeDean 16:18
My people, I present to you the lovely, sensational poet Chelsea Murray, Queen to auto Here we go. Here we go. Next man up,

Chelsea Maraee 16:30
we were born where sirens sang lullabies, where crack sidewalks raised us like tired elders and bullets whispered prayers in the night. The corner store became our church, neon lights glowing like stained glass while mamas bent they backs like sacred songs. Just to keep the lights on, we learned early that survival was an art form. The unwritten code, don't run when the blue lights flash, keep your hands where the world can see and learn how to laugh in silence. That way, Joy doesn't sound too much like a threat. The rules black folks memorize. Y'all know ladies to walk home alive. Keys between fingers, smile, soft, voice steady and keep our rage swallowed. I carry the hood in my chest. I've seen eviction notices taped to doors like warning labels on our futures. I've seen brothers disappear into cells before their voices even finished cracking in our mother's prayers was the only bruise that didn't leak when the world rained down on us every day was survival matter. How many blocks can I walk without colors, claiming, how many times can I smile polite enough to prove that I ain't a threat? I learned to keep my eyes wide open, because danger doesn't knock it kicks the door in. I came up with street lights preach curfews, where police cruisers stalked like hungry wolves I am, every black child the hood tried to swallow, every miracle the concrete could not crush. So when you see me know this truth, I am proof that beauty could bleed through asphalt, and that divinity survives even in the shadows, and that we black, unbroken, unforgotten are roses made by the sacred struggle. Our roots are stubborn and holy. Drink from the ache of our ancestors who bent but did not break seed. God plants us in soil. The world discard seed. God plants us in soil. The World discards, yet still we prosper, dreams painted on brick walls. Spirit as strong as gospel thunder, we are not defined by the cracks. We are the light pushing through them. So when you see me, know this, I am proof that you can bloom in the hardest of places, and that beauty belongs even in the broken and that every black child from the hood is a miracle. The world wasn't ready for next man up.

Sheldon Alex Sebastian 19:07
Where do we go now? This is a forest wide out in the open air, with plenty place to hide and many more to seek. This is discovery. So many go alone, but will you go with me? I mean to journey on as many dare to do, is such a place to be, but better off with you and better off with us on the unwritten path. Let's make it worth the risk and all the aftermath.

Donavan LeDean 19:36
Next man up, before I let you go, I'd like you to share a poem for us. You ready? Let me get ready.

Jenny Uddin 19:50
I don't clock in. I lock in, tapped into frequencies. Most folks don't even notice I'm bilingual in meltdown plus motion, fluid and silence and devotion. So. They see tantrum. I see sensory overload. They see picky eater. I see protecting peace from chaos on the plate. They see nonverbal I see a universe about the world ain't even earned the privilege to translate. They try to speak for him. Instead of letting him speak as him. They assume silence means confused, like I just choose words for him. Stop seeing disability. Start seeing possibilities. Autism isn't a misprint. It's a difference. Brilliant. I'm the translator, interpreter, advocate, navigator, therapist, teacher, researcher, educator, appointments on calendars, patience and stamina, balancing meltdowns, holding space, holding stamina. IEP meetings where they judge what he's lacking while I subtract their assumptions and multiply backing, proving daily that growth ain't measured in talking. Some babies speak words. MAN SPEAKS energy when they walking. His silence ain't empty. It's full, full of galaxies and meaning, full of brilliance. They keep missing, full of everything they don't need permission. They label my baby. Don't label my fight. Don't label the journey. When you can't handle the light. The ancestors didn't sign us to be easy. He assigned us to be legendary, believe me, thank you. Here we go. Here we go. Next, man up,

Liz Prince 21:08
passionate women who knew spiritual things, wrap me up in your arms and bathe me in oils, clean me quick before I spoil. Pour in, ring out, remake me whole. I needed this. I'd be remiss if I didn't embrace the legacy laid before me. If I threw away the crown and renounced the royalty passionate women who knew spiritual things, pray for me, please, if you may, if you might, speak life into me with my arms spread wide and my head held high, I call out, save me. Passionate women who know spiritual things, I'm sorry they mistake your passion for anger. I'm sorry they criminalize your expression of anger. And I'm so so sorry. There's so freaking much to be so angry about, and you never receive the same tenderness as your crocodile crying counterparts you women who are mother, father, sister and aunt, who carry the weight of every mistake made by the women before you, by the men who disappeared, by the boys who hurt you and by the other girls with the same heavy weight, sad eyes and Loud burdens, passionate women who know spiritual things, I'm so sorry we ask so much of you. I'm so so sorry you give more than you receive, and I'm so very sorry you only get the scraps of the world to make do with, only to have it stolen by women of passion and spirit. I love you, and I will sing of your praises and give you your flowers while their scent is still fresh and I could still see the glimmer in your eyes, because at the very least, you deserve the world as you are. What keeps it turning my women of passion, thank you.

Donavan LeDean 22:59
Next man up. Presents. Shymoro, Queen tauto, here we go. Here we go. Next man up.

Cheyenne 23:08
Hello, everyone. My name is Cheyenne chargalof. My friends and family called me shy. Thank you for having me. Today, I'm going to read my poetry. This one is called my mirror. Mirror, mirror on the wall. Why did I hate you before I was so tired of seeing the reflection of what I felt myself, insecure mirror. How can one ever love you when you don't love themselves? I couldn't I had to face myself. I had to face you mirror. You're broken from being punched. I no longer see myself, but yet I still see you, empty, black space, pathetic you, I believe, to dance and too long, but to meet you again me, but in love of you. I love myself. I want you my mirror to drop colors onto my skin like melted crayons. I want you my mirror to caress down your words my poetry. Hold the words that create you, to hold you up and to be strong my mirror and to look at myself. I know I'm strong and that I'm an art, and that I want to love myself, my man, my artist. Name is, you can find me on Instagram.

Donavan LeDean 24:35
Next man up presents, Luna queen, tall tour. Here we go. Here we go. Next. Man up.

Luna 24:42
Self doubt once appeared to be a prison I couldn't escape from, like being trapped in the labyrinth of my mind with only the echo of my fears repeating every lie I told myself repeating in an endless loop of suffering with that. Every challenge and weighted ache in my chest, I carried all this pain on knowing how to release so I carried it all until it became so undeniable that loving myself was no longer optional. Instead, it showed me where I needed love the most, reminding myself that I was capable of so much more than my fears allowed me to see my mind is a weapon, but I no longer turn it against myself. I let pain instruct me without defining me. Growth did not feel gentle, and discomfort became my teacher. That is how I learned to grow when love is louder than my wounds.

Donavan LeDean 25:45
Next man up, before you go, I would like for you to share a poem for us. Oh, yeah, ready? I'm ready.

The Unknown Odist 25:59
Life don't come with a manual, just scandals and sandals on paths that burn like candles. We gamble with fate like Vegas. Nights fight our reflections like shadows with rights, ingest wisdom from old heads that never chewed slow. I grew though through potholes and plot holes and folks that got goals but stopped cold when dreams felt like frostbite. I tossed light and dark spaces and spark stages with truth, because life ain't a sprint, it's a loop, a fruit that ripens with bruises, a fuse lit by losses that win if you use

Donavan LeDean 26:32
it in this life. And it's life. Next man up. Hello.

Jess Flo 26:40
So the first poem I'm going to read is called the colors of you. Thinking of painting, my canvas is blank. I put it on the easel, and I grab my paint. There are several colors that I choose, my favorites being the greens and the blues. I pick up my brush, I begin to paint, trying to envision what I will make, moving the brush up, and I strike it down. My wrists are so soft they barely make a sound. I move the brush left, then I paint some on the right. My painting is coming together. It's really quite the sight. I step back to admire my art. I think about the meaning, and I realize it's from my heart. The meaning is so complex. Where would I even start? Maybe by describing the purpose of the colors in my art, or by telling you the first color I used is the color of your eyes, or how the second is the color of your hair, or maybe how the third color is representing how much I care, or how the fourth color is your favorite and the fifth is mine, I made them twist together, intertwine the colors together, show my love for you, and each time I look at my painting, I'll see our favorite colors and be reminded that You love me too.

Donavan LeDean 27:45
Before we go, I would like to conclude with a power message. It's a message about the power of words. Words hold weight determining your fate. The outcome can be good or bad, depending on the intent behind those words and who you're conveying it to. If you seek peace in your life, observe what's around you. Travel to foreign places, speak with those who are different in culture and appearance, to gain good knowledge in order to become a complete human being, acquire a conscience and to speak from a place that's honorable and not from ignorance, because words can either cause you to become legendary or ruin a reputation. It can inspire or cause mental anguish. The choice is yours. Choose your words wisely. Thanks for tuning in to next man up. Poetry in motion. I am your host, Donna Valley Dade, to see my inspirational and poetry reels, you can go to YouTube at Donna Valley Dade. Also, you can find my poetry books, children's books and coloring books on Amazon under my name, Donna Valley Dade, for actor or poet bookings, you can contact me, DV media, one zero@gmail.com Special thanks to my guest, Ashina Burke for stopping by discussing her peace journey, healing and mental health. I am Donna Billy Dean, actor, author and inspirational, rhythmic poets, until next time. Peace Dave,

Donavan LeDean 29:29
drive. Dave. You.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai