Category: Culture

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.

Opening Lyrics To Songs That I Love

trE

#6: Eric Benét, News For You

You tell me love ain’t been goin’ your way/
Cause you’ve been searching, but good ones are hard to find/
Said you won’t settle for less than your heart is asking/
And life’s too precious just to be wasting time/

Eric Benét, News For You. 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!

In “News for You,” Eric Benét sings about the surprising and transformative power of finding love after having given up on it.

The song’s core message is in the lyrics: “Think your time for love is through. Well I got news for you.” Benét describes falling in love so completely that the thought of the person leaving feels devastating. The song embraces the “beautifully frightening aspect of love” that can be both tragic and deeply resonant.

The song was featured on his album “The One”.

When I listen to this song by Eric, I have to push away all of the negative thoughts that bounce about in my head regarding him and Halle Berry. Their marriage was an embarrassment on public display because of Eric’s constant cheating.

ON HALLE BERRY!!! Dude, like how?! Why?! I remember watching an interview with her, and then watching a separate one with him, and he spoke about being diagnosed as a Sex Addict. It was the first time I had heard the term.

He also spoke about being in the throes of counseling and therapy and trying to come to grips with the pain he had caused Halle, while also not hating himself in the process. Needless to say, they were some heavy interviews.

The song, though?! It’s one of my favorites by him because it pulls at the heartstrings. It makes me think about all of my failed relationships and the ones that were gifts to me because I learned something, and me and those exes are still friends. We know what we had, but we also know why we had to let it go.

The song is beautifully penned with a catchy chorus, and his distinctive vocals make it so much better. It’s an everlasting love song that can be and will be played on repeat for years to come.

For the next four 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!

marriage, no, thank you & his lack of charm drew me in

trE

Two poems posted on Substack notes

AI-Generated Image. A Black married couple who just got married. They are both smiling into the camera. A glimpse of sunlight shines in the background, highlighting their faces.

marriage, no, thank you.

I used to want
marriage–when I
dilly-dallied in my
20s and early 30s…

now, I’ve no yen to
lasso such a thing
close to me that
seems to depress
my loved ones.

Of all the married
couples I’ve ever
known, 30% of them
are happy. I don’t
care who you are,
that’s a frightening
statistic.

I envision myself
whole, free, loved,
and understood, and
I don’t have faith in
anyone else to make
me that way.

The journey must
begin and end with
me.

AI-Generated Image: A Biracial man standing with a look of confidence on his face, as he leans against a red truck.

his lack of charm drew me in

I wasn’t lying when
I said, “he isn’t
debonair.” he isn’t.
he wasn’t. but there
was something of
an allure about him–
how his lack of
charm convinced me
to reveal my caged
self.

all the baggage. all
the misplaced anger.
all the need for
space.

he was a breeze that
passed through at
the perfect time and
collected me during
my most heated
moments.

we relied on passion
to sustain us, and
that was our downfall.

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.

My Kid Sister Isn’t a Baby Anymore

trE

And I honestly don’t know how I feel about that.

*Sobs uncontrollably all over these photos*
*Sobs uncontrollably all over these photos*
*Sobs uncontrollably all over these photos*

If you’ve been following this blog for a while (or my previous blog before it) or you’ve followed me on Medium, then you’ve likely read about my kid sister. Today is her 26th birthday, and it hit me like a Mack truck that my baby is no longer a baby. She’s closer to 30 now than she is to age 20, and I’m seriously in my feelings about it.

I’m wallowing in crocodile tears, mentally flipping through the memories of us as she was growing up, and reminiscing about her toddler years, and I am NOT okay. Lol!

She’s beautiful. She’s intelligent. She’s talented in so many ways. She has a love for musicality and can sing the socks off most people I know. To say that I’m proud of her is a major understatement. 

Here’s a snippet from her birthday poem:

You are the blessing I
prayed for–my dream come
true. Every day, I am
wowed by the woman you
are becoming, and I bow
before your changes.

You restore all that is
good within me, and there’s
no price for that.
I’ll never be able to repay
you, but I’ll love you until
my last breath.

I wished for a sister for so long. It was one of the things that was HIGH on my list of wants as I was growing up. To have that dream come true and my wish granted when I was 19 years old was one of the happiest moments of my life.

Bless, you are amazing, and I am so proud of the woman you have become, and I look forward to who you will be in the future. Keep shining, kiddo! I love you!

Please join me in wishing the kid a Happy Birthday, folks! 26 years on this earth is a testimony nowadays, and I am over-the-moon that she has one!

sneaking back into the outside world & roc of clouds

trE

Two poems written on Substack notes

Leggy Limbs. Photo Credit: ©2025 Tremaine L. Loadholt

sneaking back into the outside world

it’s been a long time
since I’ve been
around someone
who harrumphed
before sounding off
with their argument.

I miss that on this
cool and dreary
morning for some
reason. I know
rain is coming, the
sky tells me so.

but that didn’t stop
me from getting my
steps in.
there’s something to
be said about
connecting with the
outside world

instead of building
one in my head
again.

roc of clouds

like some sort of
roc, she towered
over the clouds

in my mind–taking
charge of
peaceful moments.

I’d grown attached
to her enigmatic
persona, but soon
realized it was
vampiric.

walking away had
not proven sufficient,
now… I run… and I
run fast.

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.