Issues of the Heart: Being Vulnerable Enough to Expose the Skeletons in Our Closet, Face Giants and Smell the Roses as an Apex to Connecting with God, Self and Others

By Audra Rene Houston

Issues of the Heart is an eclectic collection of pragmatic and realistic poems, free verse and prose that reads like a memoir or short story. It speaks on real life issues as it relates to intrapersonal and interpersonal conflict and human relations such as joy and pain, spirituality, struggles and triumphs, temperance and self-control, and insatiability and over-indulgence that one may find remarkably nostalgic.

Thank you Audra Houston, for the opportunity to review your book, Issues of the Heart. I think that it is the first of many future manuscripts. In both your prose and poetry, your writing showed a maturity about your subject matter. It is always admirable to see someone put down his or her thoughts in written form. You have brought closure to your ideas and that too is admirable. This is a must read for people in many disciplines. I wish you a rewarding and fulfilling life as a writer.

A. Paul Kelly, M.D. Author, Dermatology for Skin of Color

The issues dealt with in this book, Issues of the Heart, are universal and speak to so many who may be struggling with past or present hurt and pain. The words are encouraging, inspiring, and uplifting for those who want to heal and grow.

Kimberly Lesure Educator

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Aug 14, 2009
• ISBN: 9781524584269

Audra Rene Houston

Audra René Houston’s favorite pastime is gazing into the Pacific Ocean for countless hours meditating. She also enjoys the Arts such as Theatre, Spoken Word and music. Ms. Houston is a Conflict Management and Communication Consultant. She has a Masters of Arts Degree in Negotiation Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding from California State University Dominguez Hills. She endeavors to travel the globe public speaking, writing books that heals, tickles the human heart and rejuvenates the soul. She eventually hopes to receive her doctoral degree whereby she can host her own spiritual-therapeutic talk show. Ms. Houston resides in her humble abode in Southern California with her guinea pig Winston.

Book preview

Copyright © 2009, 2014 by Audra Houston.

ISBN:   Softcover   978-1-4415-1075-4

ISBN:   Ebook         978-1-5245-8426-9

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 01/31/2015

Audra Houston

1-323-635-9211

AudraReneHouston.Com

[e-mail].

Xlibris

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www.Xlibris.com

546941

Contents

Acknowledgement

Preface

Admonishment and Harangue

Wake Up, My People—The Black Man in Particular,

then Come Home

I’ve Tried but I Can’t Do It by Myself; I Am Trying to Change

the World… Will you Help Me?

Time Waits for No Man

Perhaps I Don’t Want To

Why Are We Still Getting the Short End of the Stick?

Big Black Man

What Really Matters

Love and Lust

The King Tarries

Still in Love

Brotha

From Courting to Marriage

Desire

Singles, It’s Forbidden

I Be

I Know What Boys (Men) Like, I Know What They Want . . .

Girls, Women, Me

Little Junior

A Parent’s Prayer

Pastor, You Are Loved

This Volcano Is About to Erupt

Grandma, I Love You

Kinda Love

My Chocolate Cake

Hurt and Anger

A Cry for Help

Duped by a Deceiver

Grieving

She Cried

Is It Foreshadowing?

Mixed Feelings

Adam, Look What You Have Done

Lonely

Not Certain

Oh, Just Cogitating

My Aunt

SEEM DEFEATED

What a Release

Nausea

I Am a Human Being

Joy and Euphoria

Clear Blue

Like It or Not

My Pen Pal Buddy

Not If but When

Parts of Speech

Somehow I Knew

A Parent’s Joy

Persistent Hope

Spirituality and Piousness

The Master’s Hands

When You’re Thinking of Me

God, Please Reprove Me

When You Feel Convicted

Forgave by Faith

God, I’m Willing

I Can’t Afford to Be Left Alone

Thank You

Your Suffering Is Not In Vain

How Do You Forget?

HOW GERMANE

I Apologize

Focusing on the One Who Always Had Me in His Focus

No, Uh-Uh, No Other Gods

I Refuse to Doubt

Struggles and Weaknesses

At Midnight

Choices

Deep Down in My Soul

Suicidal Thoughts

Sometimes

Foreword

"In Issues of the Heart, Audra Houston, provides a window into the complex life of the African American community. She brings together poetry and prose that capture the intricate emotional terrain of her people searching for a more fulfilling life in different places and under different circumstances. The book weaves together the personal and the impersonal into a rich collective narrative of a people who are loving and giving, yet dream of one day to be genuinely loved and respected. The book takes the reader into private and public spaces where African Americans hope and despair, cry and laugh, plan and organize, pray and worship for a better tomorrow. It is about the fear, anxiety, and dreams of the young and the old, men and women who are trying to make sense of our complex world. These enduring stories are presented in an unusual and refreshing style that yokes together the profane and the sacred, the traditional and the modern. The book is a wonderful addition to the growing works on African American and the human experience."

Munashe Furusa, Ph.D.

Vice Chancellor/President CEO of Africa University and Former Dean and Professor of California State University Dominguez Hills

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my Maternal Grandmother Willie, Aunt Regina, Uncle Lee, Cousin Bug and my friend Mark Brown all whom I loved (and felt their love) and all who have gone on to be with the Lord.

"Die when I may, I want it said of me that I plucked a weed and

planted a flower where ever I thought a flower would grow." Abraham Lincoln

Acknowledgement

Though it may sound trite, I want to say to my daddy, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Great I Am, and my Bright and Morning Star, Look, Daddy, your little girl did it… I love you, and my aim is to please you always. Thank you so much for your mercy, chiding, and grace!

To the Xlibris team: Carolyn Gambito, your ability to take the concept of my subtitle and implement my vision is golden. You’re talented! To Julian Ortiz, Christine Lauro (former employee) and AJ Barco, thank you for such great customer service. When there was a wrong, it was righted. More books are to come!

To Grammy Margie (whom I dedicated the poem Grandma, I Love You), I was in your care at six years old and permanently from eight to eighteen years old. You did not have to do that;