Ashlee Craft's World

Tag: the ashlee craft show

  • Interview with Jason Gardner – Life Coach, Magician, & Musician

    Recently, I had the opportunity to interview Jason Gardner, an awesome personal/life coach, as well as a professional magician & musician. Jason is one of those people who just has a ton of positive vibes flowing from them, the kind of person just interacting with them makes you feel uplifted. Here, Jason talks about personal development, letting the good in you seek the good in others, & real magic.

  • Starting, Single, Simple – The Ashlee Craft Show – Episode 065 – Poetry

    In Episode 065 of The Ashlee Craft Show, I read the poem “Starting, Single, Simple” from Four Roads to Freedom!

    FOUR ROADS TO FREEDOM :: https://amzn.to/2OScZ4V

    NEW!!! EPIC FLORIDA ROAD TRIP BOOK :: https://amzn.to/2DCgvPJ

  • Smile – The Ashlee Craft Show – Episode 064 – Poetry

    Episode 064 is me reading a poem called Smile from my book New Life, New Day!

    NEW LIFE, NEW DAY :: https://amzn.to/2NN32cS

  • Golden – The Ashlee Craft Show – Episode 063 – Poetry

    In Episode 063 of The Ashlee Craft Show, I read a poem called “Golden” from The Walls Were Gray!

    THE WALLS WERE GRAY :: https://amzn.to/2zEifEl

  • “stability” – The Ashlee Craft Show – Episode 062 – Poetry

    A SHIP ONTO A SEA OF HOPE :: https://amzn.to/2wr6yhh

    stability //

    he told me stability
    was like gold: the most important
    thing one could own,
    like love:
    the most important thing one could know

    she asked me the other day
    if I was still on the path
    to leadership there
    & I lied & said yes

    I briefly wished that I was,
    to still be on a clear-cut pathway
    with clear-cut milestones
    & a clear-cut plan for getting there
    where I could know & depend upon
    security & stability
    & of always knowing what was next
    what to expect
    I know this isn’t what I really want:
    it is me being afraid of where I am now
    & of the necessity of waiting until
    the next step I need to take becomes clear
    I hate waiting
    & not knowing what I should do
    uncertainty is yet to be a friend of mine

    but remember: the stability
    is all a lie the prices all drop
    & the people you trust might
    let you down if it’s in their better interest

    besides, who wants to be a slave
    of their robot society
    when you can be free
    in the open world?

  • “In the City Briefly” – The Ashlee Craft Show – Episode 061 – Poetry

    In Episode 061, I read a poem called “In the City Briefly” from my book “Sun in the Night: The Poems of Art Poems & Assemblage”. Enjoy!

    SUN IN THE NIGHT :: https://amzn.to/2L7xs3g

    // In the City Briefly

    living in a sandbox filled with crumbs & onion skins & mean old ladies & people who don’t know which way the hands of clocks turn around / enveloped in shrouds of sea waves & shower water flowing down an endless abyss drain universe repeating in her singing voice the existence of stars / calling our across multitudes if universes the beautiful impossibility of it all & yet it still happened anyways / there is a Styrofoam cup embossed in gold containing the most expensive green tea in the world / I laugh at this beautiful dichotomy & then throw a flower into the roaring ocean smiling as sand encloses a rose & preserves it buried underwater for hundreds of years before being discovered in perfect aliveness in the future / I stood unknown to all those who saw me & refused to shake the hands of those who’d lied to me but genuinely wished them the best / stars fell over Chicago & landed below the mother who picked them up wrapped them in her hands & knew / I walked past her & handed her the gold embossed Styrofoam cup & told her “here is good luck. use it wisely.”

  • “Chains Would Never Bind Me” – The Ashlee Craft Show – Episode 060 – Poetry

    Yes, I didn’t post an episode last weekend, so this weekend is a MAGICAL DOUBLE EPISODE WEEKEND! In this episode, I read a poem called “Chains Would Never Bind Me” from my book “Reflections in the Green Triangle”!

    REFLECTIONS IN THE GREEN TRIANGLE :: https://amzn.to/2MrqYRC
    // CHAINS WOULD NEVER BIND ME

    always in the leaning meadow
    beneath the calling of the moon’s pure glow
    I buried the last of the seeds that I would leave to sow
    the night had fallen so quickly that I’d lost
    as dreams I’d set out on the sea were tossed
    & something in my heart pushed forward at whatever cost
    so that chains would never bind me

    as the call of morning dove
    rang out into the trees above
    it felt of spring, of freedom, of love
    I heard the call of the mocking bird
    & I hung on to every word
    & the line between coincidence & life was blurred

    always in the silent brook
    beneath lush warmth of noonday’s nook
    I threw the last of the pebbles that I had left to look
    into the depths of another’s soul
    into the meaning of their words, their pull
    towards what they deemed was destiny’s shoal
    so that chains would never bind me

    as the cry of someone’s lost love
    mingled with the after-rain song of the dove
    coming from somewhere above
    I spoke of what I’d heard
    redeeming every word
    with the care of the painter unheard

    the floating songs of birds in the trees
    the wind in the meadow so wild & so free
    I listened, & in the darkness I saw
    not what was there but what was all
    I stood staring through the keyhole crack in awe
    anticipating the sound of freedom’s sprawl
    I stood as I must before the call
    in the depths of sunshine’s enthrall

    gentle rays of light from above
    I feel finally the first touch of love
    awoken by the song of the dove
    left to the wind to remind me
    the dream had told me love would find me
    & that no chains would ever bind me

  • “An Ode to Bowlines” – The Ashlee Craft Show – Episode 059 – Poetry

    In Episode 059, I read a poem called “An Ode to Bowlines” from my poetry book, Little Bird!

    LITTLE BIRD :: https://amzn.to/2MKtQFK

     

    // AN ODE TO BOWLINES

    bowlines who safely kept me in their grasp
    who held me to the dock
    it is time to let go your clasp
    it’s time to move on

    you held me back
    you held me down
    because I didn’t know how to swim
    but now I’m stronger
    now I’m ready
    yes, I’m ready to win

    so let go of me & let me fly
    away to where I belong
    soaring thru the sunny skies
    to what my heart’s known all along

  • “I took off the glasses” – The Ashlee Craft Show – Episode 058 – Poetry

    In Episode 058 of The Ashlee Craft Show, I read a poem called “I took off the glasses” which is from my book “So Long, Lonesome Place”.

    SO LONG, LONESOME PLACE Poetry Book :: https://amzn.to/2zZDd2s

  • “paper packaging” – The Ashlee Craft Show – Episode 057 – Poetry

    In Episode 057 of The Ashlee Craft Show, I read a poem called “paper packaging”, which is from my poetry book “So Long, Lonesome Place”! I hope you enjoy it!

    SO LONG, LONESOME PLACE Poetry Book :: https://amzn.to/2zZDd2s

    //

    paper packaging paper packaging, remember the paper packaging / & the way you used to write your name on every wall you passed because it hurt / old & torn up pickup trucks; or the nice ones – you used to be so obsessed with emulating your Golden Idol & doing everything that would make him impressed by you – the perfect Lady – but in the process you neglected the vacations & travel & brightly colored hair & fashion that appealed to you & the art on your skin & all those flamboyant songs you turned up loud, & all the dreams you were afraid of pursuing for fear he would think you were too large & expansive for him, or not feminine enough, or somehow less worthy than the one he already knew / you were willing to give up so many pieces of yourself in exchange for someone who never even knew what sunlight could look like on my fingertips

    //

    now you paved your own road with gold, & you looked past the false idols you were aspiring to impress & finally there you saw what you were looking for inside the smell of your own hair