Artist Spotlight: Ellyana Gomez

   Ellyana Gomez is currently an undergraduate student at the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work. She has developed her love of poetry since she was a child, starting with exploring Maya Angelou poems with her father. She has been published in several anthologies including Poetry Quarterly and was recently awarded the “Best in School” award at the Carnegie Mellon Martin Luther King Jr Day Writing Awards. In the future, she hopes to do work in food justice, sustainability, and economics. 

  Wyntr is written for my beautiful baby sister. I hope that she may continue to grow into a smart, beautiful, and ambitious person. Church explores spirituality and feeling connected to God outside of structured religion through even the most menial happenings in our everyday lives.

---

Wyntr

By: Ellyana Gomez
My biggest wish is that 
​You see your worth 
Is more than your beauty 

I hope you recognize 
The rivers that have bled 
Nile to Mississippi 
To give you the strength and roots
To make the world better 

I hope you realize 
The beauty in your brown eyes
And never wish for a different color 

I hope you can understand 
That you are the most precious
The world has to offer 

When you are sad, shine 
When you are happy, sparkle Illuminate the rooms 
And lives that you walk in 

I hope that you will find 
That you have everything you need
To get everything you want
And dream
 
Baby I hope you dream 
And shine always 
And doubt never 
But if you are ever unsure 
Of what you are worth and made for
 
Just remember 
You have stardust in your skin
And sunshine in your smile
Night and day 
May you shine as all stars do
Dream baby,please

Church

By: Ellyana Gomez
Church is not always on sundays 
With a choir And a tambourine 
With older ladies falling out and running 

Some days it’s a slight breeze when you 
Were adjusting to the beads of sweat popping up on your warm skin Or it’s a road trip with a view of mountains 
Covered with trees- peaches, apples, cherries 
Just seem to roll endlessly 
Until they kiss the sky 

Some days it’s sitting comfy in your bed 
Feet nuzzled under a fleece blanket 
Tracing a raindrop down the window with your eyes 
As it snakes down to join its brothers 

Some days it’s sharing a warm meal 
Served on grandmas old china 
(But it’s your other grandma’s recipe) 
And we sit and laugh and enjoy 

Then it’s church 

When you see all the little things that blow your way 
And you recognize the ways you are taken care of 
When you admire the way God has sculpted the Earth and filled it with so many wonderful things 
When you can sit and be still 
Calmly existing, self aware and content 
When you think mid-laugh how lucky you are to 
Be a part of such a big loving family 
That you can lean on and thrive with and laugh with 

Then it’s church 
The sudden awareness that this life 
And all the most glorious things 
Are blessings and made just for you
​
The feeling comes if you be still 
I know church doesn’t always come on Sundays Because church is a feeling to me