Spoken word poet Leeanna Allen is expected to release a video for her poem “See You”, which she penned five years ago at a time she was searching for healing for her own soul in a bid in find herself.
“Over the years of working in different environments and interacting with different types of people, I have drawn the conclusion that at the core of many social issues that prevail in our society is the fundamental question: Who am I? In my humble opinion, many of us have not been able to answer this question outside of our successes and/or failures,” Leeanna said.
“For some time, I had the same challenge as well and not successfully answering this question impacted my life negatively. In some way, shape or form, we are all in search of our identities and, based on our influences, opportunities, nature and nurture; misguidedly we sometimes choose to answer this question based on external factors.”
She went on to explain this saying sometimes persons may have achieved much academically and begin to measure their worth by their certificates or the money in their bank accounts while others identify themselves based on their lack of education or success or the sum of their mistakes. Identifying themselves by of those factors, in other words, means they would have failed to recognize their true identity, she said.
“See You” was written to dispel the myth that our identity is based on our successes and/or failures. The poem is an eye opener for those still searching for their identities and a reminder for those who may have forgotten.
“Truly understanding that we are more than these things and finding the answer to the question ‘Who am I?’ in the one that created us, frees us from the chains of comparison and an unforgiving posture towards ourselves and others,” she said.
Leeanna noted that over the years she has been encouraged to record her pieces or to incorporate them in videos, so taking this advice she collaborated with Paradigm Studios regarding mastering the sound while the video was shot by Aubrey ‘APro’ Odle with technical support from Troydon Bowman. The scenes were shot at the studio and in the Botanical Gardens.
Leeanna began writing poems when she was nine which served as an outlet during ups and downs in life. She ventured into the spoken word aspect six years ago. She encourages persons, youths especially, to “talk it out with a paper and pen”. Doing this, she said, allowed her to discover new heights and revealed things she never knew about herself.
Over the years Leeanna has performed her pieces at prestigious events before the president, minsters and diplomats. She has also been involved in school events and other various occasions.
Leeanna is also a contemporary gospel singer/songwriter and has written children’s books, including Monty and the Monuments; Baby Saves the Day; Young, Brown and Beautiful among others. She is yet to publish them.
She acknowledged her “biggest cheerleaders” – her husband Colin Allen and their two boys Othniel and Emmanuel.
The “See You” video is slated to be released by February 3. In the pipeline is another video to be completed for a powerful piece titled “Outgrowing You” that speaks to overcoming abuse. It is expected to be out in April.
See You (an excerpt)
If they saw you in your failure
And they thought that it was funny
They laughed at you
But now your rising surprises them
Well then it’s only fair to conclude that they didn’t see you, at all
Cause if they really saw you
They would have seen a being reaching for a level not yet clutched
The greatness buried and untouched
A mine of gold disguised by stone and brush
Sunken treasure thrust to the bottom of the sea
Not someone you were pretending to be
