This is How I Forgive Myself, by Yomaira M.

Poetry, chapbook, 32 pages, from Bottlecap Features. Yomaira grew up believing her voice did not matter so she created a persona that allowed others to dictate her reality. This caused much pain and suffering as she often found herself in situations that did not serve her highest self. She slowly realized that although her voice is soft it is significant. This is How I Forgive Myself is her debut chapbook written in that perspective. It is a collection of free verse poetry highlighting romantic relationships where she tries to understand the reasons behind the failures. Her goal was to find lessons while learning about self-love and forgiveness. These are the thoughts and feelings that many thought she would keep. These are poems of realization, redemption, and empowerment. Yomaira M. was born in the Dominican Republic and raised in New York City in Washington Heights. After learning the English language, she fell in love with language arts. While in High School she became interested in poetry and was encouraged by her educators to enter poetry contests and go to poetry readings. She won a few of those contests and was published in a poetry anthology at the age of 16 years old. As an adult she would share her poetry with her coworkers through e-mails and through company newsletters. Doing so she realized that through poetry she was able to inspire and encourage others in moments of need in the same way her favorite poets have done for her. In December 2022, she decided to open an Instagram page to share her poetry and inspirational quotes with a larger audience. This decision changed her life and has put her on a path that she considers aligned with her true purpose.