Day: July 21, 2025

Opening Lyrics To Songs That I Love

trE

#7: H.E.R., Process

I’m just tryin’ to process what just happened/
I’m just tryin’ to express what I’m feeling/
When the pressure gets too intense, burn some incense
Stop and take a deep breath… release it/

©2021 H.E.R., Process. YouTube

This will probably be my favorite segment on my blog in a very long time! Welcome to Opening Lyrics to Songs That I Love!

H.E.R.’s song “Process” appears on her album “Back of My Mind” (Apple Music Edition), released in 2021. The lyrics seem to be about navigating a challenging situation or relationship, feeling like someone is “slowing up the progress” and causing a lot of frustration and sleepless nights.

The speaker is going through an emotional “process” of dealing with this, feeling pushed to their limits, and on the verge of “popping” or “blowing up.”

Lines like “Pushin’ all my buttons/Teardrop, hurting/Say I’m off the deep end/Yeah, right, you’re reachin’ reveal the raw vulnerability and emotional turmoil. 

Essentially, “Process” seems to be a raw and honest expression of dealing with the difficulties and emotional strain that come with a challenging personal situation.

By this point, I guess you have made the assessment that I have a thing for love songs: love lost, love gained, seeking love, and learning how to love. Most of my favorite songs center around love and all things encapsulating love. H.E.R. does an incredible job with “Process” as she pens what it feels to move forward while in the throes of breaking down.

It is oftentimes hard to move on from such a loss. Grief, reminiscence, and the constant wondering of “What did I do?” and “What could I have done to make things better?” can eat us alive.

This song will forever be a favorite of mine. The opening lyrics pull you in to hear the deeper story–to sit down at her feet and vibe with her–to feel her pain. I am here for this kind of carrying on day in and day out.

For the next three Sundays, I’ll share with you my favorite opening lyrics to songs I truly love. Maybe you’ll enjoy it. Maybe you won’t. Perhaps you’ll share favorite opening lyrics to songs you love as well. Perhaps you won’t. Either way, we’re going to have a good damn time.

See you next week!

What If We Could Haiku the Pain Away?

trE

A Book Review

Tranquility: An Anthology of Haiku

I am trying my best to fill my life with positive images, words, and people. Given our current situation, my heart needs it more than I thought it would. I do not want to come undone.

Enter, Tranquility: An Anthology of Haiku, edited by Gabriela Marie Milton and published by her team at Literary Revelations, is a book that is lifting me to higher places.

I’ve recommended this anthology before as an informative post, and to share that I, too, have five haiku published in it.

Here’s the review, shared on Amazon and Goodreads:

“An Anthology of Creativity, Expressiveness, and Tranquility

Before I purchased this anthology, I knew it would be a work of art. There are over 230 writers and connoisseurs of haiku included, and with every turn of the page, a land of wonder awaits the reader.

Edited by Gabriela Marie Milton and published by Literary Revelations, the team has produced a book that is sure to stand the test of time.

It is an outstanding follow-up to Petals of Haiku: An Anthology, and is now placed alongside it on one of my bookshelves.

I appreciate and have an affinity for the form of haiku as it pertains to micropoetry, and every contributor shared their five haiku in creative and vividly expressed ways.

I have no doubt this book will be one I turn to when I need a place of calm as my personal retreat.

If you want to experience creativity at its highest, timely serenity, and be engulfed by the expressiveness throughout the anthology, then, I suggest this book for your collection.

We all could use a bit of tranquility.”

An overwhelming sense of calm would enter my body every time I picked up this book to read it. It’s as though every writer were in sync with one another.

We all understood the assignment. And I hope you’ll take the time and care to share with your heart a plethora of haiku that’ll definitely do it some good.

Have you gotten your copy of my new book: a collection of serial tales & flash fiction, Séduire (E-Book and Paperback) yet?

I recently signed up to write on Substack as well. Poking the Bear’s Belly for Fun is a place of healing as I speak about the most recent events with my place of employment, as it pertains to racism and discrimination. I welcome your visit.