Memento Mori Lab

Memento Mori Lab

By Mayra GomesArts
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Memento Mori Lab episodes

  • #18 Fears

    Let’s talk about fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of success, fear of not being good enough and all these other invisible monsters that haunt our creative minds. If anything, this episode will make you feel less alone when it comes to dealing with these quiet fears we fail to see.


    What's Memento Mori Lab?

    Memento Mori Lab is our permission slip to experiment, try new things, and keep bringing ideas to life. In my case, that means writing mediocre poetry, some stories and scripts, doodling, and recording this podcast. Memento Mori reminds us, we are going to die. Whatever creative endeavor you've been postponing, now is the time to take action.

    🔥Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and anywhere you get your podcasts! 👉https://anchor.fm/mementomorilab

    Instagram: @memento.mori.lab 

    Twitter: @mementomorilab


    Mentioned in the episode

    Fear Setting 👉Ted Talk 


    Poems

    Fears

    Fears wrap around ideas,

    Covering my senses,
    Breath between tears
    My body shakes, rigid,
    I try to fight, pen in hand,
    No victory in sight, blank.

    Fears stop time, racing,

    Bathe in silence, screaming
    Stillness, rejoices in failure
    I, trapped in my prison
    Built as my protection,
    Remain afraid, quiet, blank.

    -

    Invisible monsters

    I'm shaking, nervous, wired with nothing to fear.

    My stomach in knots, too tight, killing butterflies,
    Why isn't the air reaching my lungs anymore?
    My chest is moving, diaphragm working, but no oxygen.
    I see no imminent threat in sight, but my throat is dry,
    My jaw clenched, my eyes stretched open in the dark.

    Invisible monsters hold back my steps, holding my hands.

    I was frozen long before winter, alive but weathered
    By potential failure, success, or any outcome in between.
    My body, stone cold, ready to flight, but never to fight.
    It's all an overprotection, an overcorrection taken too far.
    My mind ended up caged, while monsters run free.

    -

    Stumble - Soon on Not Poetry (Medium Publication)

    -

    Bonus: Screaming Fears - Soon on Not Poetry (Medium Publication)

    22 min
  • #17 Chaos & Control

    Let's talk about our chaotic lives, how we invite more chaos in and how we have absolutely no control over most things. It's hard to accept how little we can actually control in life, and maybe this episode is a bit extreme. Or maybe it's accurate. Who knows?


    What's Memento Mori Lab?

    Memento Mori Lab is our permission slip to experiment, try new things, and keep bringing ideas to life. In my case, that means writing mediocre poetry, some stories and scripts, doodling, and recording this podcast. Memento Mori reminds us, we are going to die. Whatever creative endeavor you've been postponing, now is the time to take action.


    🔥Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and anywhere you get your podcasts! 👉https://anchor.fm/mementomorilab

    Instagram: @memento.mori.lab 

    Twitter: @mementomorilab 


    Poems


    Chaos & Control

    Shattered, crushed, under control

    Arranged pieces lie still on the floor,
    Flat, lifeless, but lethal.
    Sharp bits of chaos beneath my steps
    My feet stand on glass, but I'm breathing
    Inhale and exhale, as if nothing is broken.

    Scattered edges cut invisible strings

    I bleed from my ego, out of control.
    I feel the shards of pain pulse in my veins
    A million pieces of chaos, untamed
    Inhale and exhale, as if nothing changed.

    -

    Look around

    I look around, searching for more

    But every room is a reflection of myself
    With piles of dust and sorrow
    Each one, abandoned and full.

    Filled with scrambled words that never come

    Fragments of thought that don’t add up
    I find no peace with my eyes closed
    I see nothing but chaos once they open

    The tears run clear lines down my cheeks,

    And stain my thoughts and the list in my hand
    Waiting to be done, never to be finished
    I wake up to another day, to the same wait.

    -

    Mess

    The house is a mess

    My hopes are everywhere
    Cans, notes and crumpled paper
    Cover my steps on the ground

    I looked for answers

    Only to find more questions
    The more I search the less I find
    Promises faded into past

    The trajectory, sturdy and strong

    Until I went off the rails,
    How can I get back on the horse
    All mixed metaphors, blurred finish lines

    Am I the mess inside this house?

    19 min
  • #16 Brief Obsessions

    Brief obsessions come and on. All of a sudden, we get interested in something. The interest escalates quickly and becomes an obsession. We consume everything we can find about it, we learn, we try, and we feel like our lives have a new meaning. Until, just as suddenly, we don't. Sound familiar?

    What's Memento Mori Lab?

    Memento Mori Lab is our permission slip to experiment, try new things, and keep bringing ideas to life. In my case, that means writing mediocre poetry, some stories and scripts, doodling, and recording this podcast. Memento Mori reminds us, we are going to die. Whatever creative endeavor you've been postponing, now is the time to take action.

    🔥Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and anywhere you get your podcasts! 👉https://anchor.fm/mementomorilab

    Instagram: @memento.mori.lab 

    Twitter: @mementomorilab 


    Poems


    Brief obsessions

    The obsession hits me,

    Without warning.

    I watch all there is to watch

    I read, well, skim through

    All there is to read.

    I know it all. I learn it all.

    I crave more and I know nothing.

    I turn the page and see,

    This is only chapter one.

    I barely scratched the surface

    But, I'm already exhausted.

    And my obsession deflates, slowly,

    Suffocated by smoke without fire

    Dead flames without ashes.

    I take a break to breathe in clarity

    But I know that any exit I take

    Becomes my next, brief, obsession.

    Why do I even question my next move

    Or hope for anything to stay?

    -

    Finite & This is it: Soon available on Not Poetry, Medium Publication

    19 min
  • Memento Mori Lab Podcast

    Memento Mori Lab is our permission slip to experiment, try new things, and keep bringing ideas to life. In my case, that means writing mediocre poetry, some stories and scripts, doodling, and recording this podcast. Memento Mori reminds us, we are going to die. Whatever creative endeavor you've been postponing, now is the time to take action.

    🔥Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and anywhere you get your podcasts! 👉https://anchor.fm/mementomorilab

    Instagram: @memento.mori.lab

    Twitter: @mementomorilab

    1 min
  • #15 Waves

    The expectation of a constant stream of happiness, creativity, or anything we crave is the recipe for disappointment. What if all comes in waves instead? Maybe we need to look at things differently, zoom in and out of our lives, and search for progress to find happiness.

    What's Memento Mori Lab?

    Memento Mori Lab is our permission slip to experiment, try new things, and keep bringing ideas to life. In my case, that means writing mediocre poetry, some stories and scripts, doodling, and recording this podcast. Memento Mori reminds us, we are going to die. Whatever creative endeavor you've been postponing, now is the time to take action.


    🔥Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and anywhere you get your podcasts! 👉https://anchor.fm/mementomorilab

    Instagram: @memento.mori.lab 

    Twitter: @mementomorilab 


    Poems


    Waves

    I am water,

    Wave and ocean.
    My mind, the tide
    Ebbs and flows
    Rises and falls
    Fights and fails.
    It's misery and bliss.

    Waves crash against the rocks,

    Waves spread gently ashore.
    They push, they pull.

    The rush against the clock

    Follows the collapse on the floor.
    I push, I pull.

    The water in the ocean,

    The blood in my veins,
    Pulse, together, in sync,

    Every beat creates a wave.

    -

    Something changed - Available on Not Poetry, Medium Publication

    -

    Mountain

    I stoop on top of the mountain, catching my breath.

    "I made it" was my first thought.
    Naive, I thought this peak would let me hop onto the next, without ever coming down.
    Then I saw the distance between the mountains left to climb
    And all the valleys I'd face in between.

    The world tricked me, I thought linear was a thing,

    Linear progress and linear narratives.
    Now I see that life comes in crooked lines.

    We are ups and downs, ebbs and flows.

    Our path is not a single, straight line in a chart.
    All our narratives are lost in perception,
    Written lines of fiction and surprising twists,
    We knew were coming all along.

    Lost, looking for linear lines

    I saw starker dips and unstable peaks,
    No joy to be found in any step of the way.

    -

    Pace - Soon available on Not Poetry, Medium Publication

    19 min
  • #14 Invisible

    If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

    Most of us feel invisible, most of the time. Do we need to be seen to exist? What about our creative work? Does it exist without an audience? As always, an episode full of questions and with very few answers.

    What's Memento Mori Lab?

    Memento Mori Lab is our permission slip to experiment, try new things, and keep bringing ideas to life. In my case, that means writing mediocre poetry, some stories and scripts, doodling, and recording this podcast. Memento Mori reminds us, we are going to die. Whatever creative endeavor you've been postponing, now is the time to take action.

    🔥Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and anywhere you get your podcasts! 👉https://anchor.fm/mementomorilab

    Instagram: @memento.mori.lab 

    Twitter: @mementomorilab 


    Poems

    Invisible

    No matter where I sit,

    Or where I stand,
    Whether I stay or go.

    No matter what I do,

    Or what I don't do,
    I'm not sure I'm here.

    Nothing reassures me I am.

    All that is me goes unseen.
    Invisible in plain sight.
    Hidden before your eyes.

    In the middle of the square,

    Mid-day, all bright, I wear black.
    Do you see me yet?

    The sunshine knows I’m there,

    It coats my face, blinds my eyes and
    Makes my hair look lighter than it is.

    Maybe it sees me, and I’m here, after all.

    Or maybe the sun just shines as bright as it can,
    Not choosing where its light lands.

    I would ask the sun,

    But I doubt it would hear my voice.
    Am I not really here at all?

    -

    Poem: Inside - Soon available on https://medium.com/not-poetry

    -

    Poem: Island

    I’m still here

    Forgotten or not
    On top of this island
    The waves did not take me
    The wind was not strong enough
    Somehow, I’m still standing tall
    All alone, I wait to be seen
    Feet buried in ashes
    Stuck to the past
    But still here.

    -

    Copyright ®Mayra Gomes 2020/ Memento Mori Lab

    18 min
  • #13 Regrets

    "I wish I had done BLANK when I had the chance” Sounds familiar? Regret seems to be a common feeling going around, particularly the regrets of things we didn’t do. It’s so painful and yet, we feel completely powerless over it. If we can’t go back in time, then what can we do?

    What's Memento Mori Lab?

    Memento Mori Lab is our permission slip to experiment, try new things, and keep bringing ideas to life. In my case, that means writing mediocre poetry, some stories and scripts, doodling, and recording this podcast. Memento Mori reminds us, we are going to die. Whatever creative endeavor you've been postponing, now is the time to take action.

    🔥Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and anywhere you get your podcasts! 👉https://anchor.fm/mementomorilab

    Instagram: @memento.mori.lab 

    Twitter: @mementomorilab 


    Poems


    A Collection of Regrets

    The gallery opens. Inside: dark walls and spotlights

    Displays arranged next to one another, all empty,
    And yet, one heavier than the next.

    Sharp turn to a room filled with crumpled papers and dreams,

    Dead before reaching the stars or even the walls.
    An entire exhibition of what could have been, but never will.

    Conceptual art of the soul, equally hard to understand,

    Or accepted as art at all. It's not a pipe, but it is. Or a fountain.
    No, this is the largest collection of all.

    The collection of regrets gathered from every person looking back,

    wondering why they didn't take a chance.
    Why did they let fear win?

    Except this art won't go for millions in the next auction.

    These pieces will remain untouched, gathering dust,
    And painfully poking you every chance they have.

    Some, I'm afraid, couldn't fit in this gallery,

    But they still live in the back of our minds,
    Weighing us down at every chance they get.

    -

    Torture

    Regrets drip in the back of my mind,

    All the time, like a broken faucet
    No matter how tightly I turn,
    It keeps on leaking just the same.

    I try my hardest to avoid it. I do, but,

    The sound of each drop grows louder,
    Until I can hear nothing else, it's torture.
    Meanwhile, no one else hears anything at all.

    -

    The water - Soon to be published on the Medium Publication - Not Poetry.

    20 min
  • #12 Simplicity

    Simple is far from easy. In a world that keeps complicating things, how can we use simplicity to improve our creative processes and our lives? We are complex creatures, but if you consciously simplify things, we might surprise ourselves and create even better work. Best of all, simplicity can help us find more joy along the way. Come, join this experiment!


    What's Memento Mori Lab?


    Memento Mori Lab is our permission slip to experiment, try new things, and keep bringing ideas to life. In my case, that means writing mediocre poetry, some stories and scripts, doodling, and recording this podcast. Memento Mori reminds us, we are going to die. Whatever creative endeavor you've been postponing, now is the time to take action.


    🔥Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and anywhere you get your podcasts! 👉https://anchor.fm/mementomorilab


    Follow me on Instagram for more poetry, thoughts and non-sense art: @memento.mori.lab 

    Twitter: @mementomorilab 


    Poems


    Simple Days

    If only every day could be this simple.

    Some days might surprise us,

    If we let them breathe a little.
    We can try to escape routine
    And fall flat in the unknown,
    Unless we breathe a little.

    Some days carry too many promises.

    No one can live to such expectations.
    Now and then, things take a wrong turn,
    That's when we forget to breathe too,
    Breathe through our lack of control.

    Until we stumble on simple days like these

    Hopefully, next to someone we love,
    Or at least in peace with ourselves,
    Right in the middle of chaotic modern lives,
    Days that help us sleep better at night.

    -

    Thoughts bounce

    Thoughts bounce back and forth

    Off the walls, in and out of focus.

    Escaping my grasp, escalating,

    What once was one is many

    Unrealistic improbabilities evolve

    Like shadows grow by proximity to light

    Though the light was never on,

    I failed to find the off switch.

    -

    At night

    Soft lights evade the curtains,

    Landing on the plain white wall.

    A few shadows dance to the wind,

    But the night is quiet.

    My head lies heavy on the pillow in the dark.

    The covers wrap my body awake,

    Too warm, too cold, no in-between.

    My eyes fight for one last look at the beam of light.

    18 min
  • #11 Memories

    Memories play a huge role in how we see ourselves and how we tackle our creative process. But is the past truly set in stone as they say? Maybe not. This episode is not a trip down memory lane. It’s all about the questions that emerge when we think about all the things we remember and the ones we forgot. And why is it that certain smells can take you right back to your childhood?

    What's Memento Mori Lab?

    Memento Mori Lab is our permission slip to experiment, try new things, and keep bringing ideas to life. In my case, that means writing mediocre poetry, some stories and scripts, doodling, and recording this podcast. Memento Mori reminds us, we are going to die. Whatever creative endeavor you've been postponing, now is the time to take action.

    Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and anywhere you get your podcasts!

    Instagram: @memento.mori.lab 

    Twitter: @mementomorilab 


    Poems

    Memories

    If memory serves me...well, it doesn't.

    Memories, myths, legends, all cut from the same cloth.

    Stories told over and over become independent,

    Standing on their own two feet, no longer attached to facts.

    They never were factual.

    An event takes place in front of hundreds of spectators.
    A thousand different stories emerge.

    We might look at the same thing, but we don't see the same thing.

    Bound by our perceptions and points of view, each observer witnesses a different story.

    Over time stories are molded, sculpted, and repeated until the memory fades away.

    All we are left with are stories.

    Memories come in flashes, blurry, and incoherent.

    Pieces of a puzzle, forever incomplete.

    Suddenly, we remember a smell, a song, a voice, a movement, a moment.

    It's hard to pin it down, but it's there, somewhere within ourselves.
    Then, come the stories, patching things together until it all makes sense.

    -

    Not Worthy of Remembrance

    My mind plays tricks on me

    Melting memories together
    In the molds of my plots

    Developed over the years,

    These narratives of delusion
    Mend my shattered recollections

    My mind deemed most of my life

    not worthy of remembrance
    Except for some scars and tears

    I remember the stories,

    Told a million times,
    But not the moments.
    Those vanished forever.

    Then, a scent fills the air

    And a song plays on the radio
    All that I felt comes back to me,
    As if I'd never left that moment to begin with.

    -

    Bright Pink Popcorn - Published on Medium “Not Poetry” 

    17 min
  • #10 Stuck

    Some days, it just feels like we are not really in it, we get stuck, and inspiration doesn't come anywhere near our creative work. This was one of those days! It's hard to accept that we can't live in a state of constant flow, creating one "masterpiece" after the other, isn't it? Maybe this episode has the solution, or, at least, it will make you feel less alone whenever you feel stuck.

    What's Memento Mori Lab?

    Memento Mori Lab is our permission slip to experiment, try new things, and keep bringing ideas to life. In my case, that means writing mediocre poetry, some stories and scripts, doodling, and recording this podcast. Memento Mori reminds us, we are going to die. Whatever creative endeavor you've been postponing, now is the time to take action.

    Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and anywhere you get your podcasts!

    Instagram: @memento.mori.lab

    Twitter: @mementomorilab


    Poems

    Tailoring Thoughts

    Tangled between past and future

    Thoughts thread outside the lines

    Stuck on misplaced triggers

    Torn by constant repetition
    Tied to all my insecurities

    These lines wrap around my limbs

    My pen won’t move, the paper blank

    I face the stitches, I find no meaning

    One knot undone creates ten more
    The needle inches closer to the edge,
    Closer to its end.

    I tied all my thoughts, I tore’em apart

    I stock them, stuck and tangled.

    Who is the part of me that keeps watching it happen?

    How come I’m the tailor, spectator, needle and fabric?

    -

    Second poem: Thoughts (available on Medium)

    16 min

About Memento Mori Lab

From the publisher's feed

Memento Mori Lab is my latest attempt to explore words and worlds. An excuse to take my creativity on a journey and hopefully inspire you to do the same. Filled with poems, thoughts, unfinished…