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Before recording the video you will see later in this post, Jenn and I stood hand-in-hand and mesmerized under the spotlight of a street lamp in the middle of a bend in the road at night. We had just walked out of an alleyway in Bedford, England, an impromptu evening walk after a great evening spent with our neighbors and friends. As we turned to go back home, what we saw was something we will NEVER forget. Key Takeaways ● What happened: During an evening walk in Bedford, England, we saw an unexplained light in the sky that stopped us in our tracks and led us to record what we could. ● What we are not claiming: We cannot prove what the object was, and this post deliberately separates what we observed from speculation about UFOs, UAPs, or extraterrestrial explanations. ● Why it stayed with us: The experience became less about proving an answer and more about how an unexplained moment can challenge assumptions, curiosity, and the stories we tell ourselves about certainty. Before choosing this as our path, we had walked in the opposite direction, but it was exceptionally blustery, and it put us off... as if the wind were blowing against us. We decided to walk down an alley a few blocks back in the opposite direction. As we went down the dimly lit alley, we had a brief discussion about Jenn leaving her phone at home. 'Going for a walk, why would I need it?' Jenn said. At that point, Leon remarked how he always carries his phone, just in case. For emergencies, for random things, he might see. Jenn agreed, and how apt that conversation was, just moments before our encounter. Just before leaving the alleyway into the clearing, Jenn said we should 'turn in the spotlight' and head back. So we did, and as we turned, we saw what we can only describe as a bright orange ball of light. Like the orange of the old street lamps before they replaced them with LED. Imagine that and then amplify it about fivefold. This light made no noise and hovered in the distance at the same height as the ridge of the rooflines of the houses you see past the lamp. We stood there, almost static and awestruck, as this light ghosted from left to right across the street. It was roughly 20 ft away. Stretch your arm out upwards, point your finger, and imagine a fifty-pence piece at the end of it. That was how big it was. The alley we came from is to the immediate left. The orb was hovering by the 4th window just below the roof on the first house building on the left. It moved slowly and had a circular shape to its right/front. From the back was an almost flat vertical line separating the spectacular orange glow from what looked like a grayish sphere emanating like a tail. It was completely noiseless and was nothing like any drone we have even imagined, let alone seen. As we watched, amazed, it almost looked like it turned, came towards us, then moved back, and continued to the left across to where the alleyway was behind us. At that point, Jenn jolted us out of our almost trance-like state and said to record it. So I grabbed my phone, although invariably by this point it was starting to move upwards, getting faster and faster. It was now moving rapidly away from us into the night sky towards the stars. Jenn went to follow it down the alley as I recorded. Then, as quickly as it came, it was gone. This was certainly no floating lantern; the movement, size, and appearance as I zoomed in demonstrate that. As far as we are aware, drones have discernible lights and noise, and it had none of those elements either. There are many things we were feeling after what we saw: awe, amazement, excitement, and wonder. The way it approached us, the way we stood stunned, and the way it zipped up into the night sky after its slow hover are things we cannot explain. Watch on YouTube We have both watched an absolute ton of documentaries about UFOs, studied ancient alien theories, consumed many shows about conspiracies, and studied numerous religions and civilizations and their connections to flying objects in the sky. If this were man-made, it is certainly nothing like we have ever seen. Check out the video below and see what you think. Obviously, in hindsight, we wish we had pulled the phone out earlier! It is really funny, as Leon records everything all of the time, being an avid photographer, but seeing this was a real shock, and it did not even cross our minds until Jenn snapped us out of it. We have read about many accounts like this. The paralysis is real! The photos you see below were taken at 100x zoom, at a distance way closer than the moon. Just for context, I filmed this on my Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra. For those that do not know, the camera has 100x zoom, powerful enough to snap a shot of the moon in incredible detail: This UAP/UFO was MUCH closer than the moon, of course. So much so that we would have fully expected my phone to pick up a more detailed image! Furthermore, we celebrated New Year's in Thailand a month later by releasing lanterns into the sky, a traditional activity in the Land of Smiles. When we originally told people about our encounter, many suggested that it could have been a lantern. So this was a great opportunity to take a shot of one in the sky and compare the footage. Leon took this shot at a much further distance than the photo of the UAP. The night conditions were virtually the same, too; it was a clear night sky. As you can see, the lantern is easy to make out (albeit a little blurry). This is most certainly not what we saw. Just for good measure, this was a video of releasing the lantern: On a final note, we have to mention that only days earlier, we had been discussing aliens and UFOs, something Leon has believed in his entire life. We have had so many debates and discussions about this, and Leon kept talking about how desperate he was to see something... anything. Jenn said in this discussion, 'Well, okay, universe, Leon wants to see one, I want to see one, just do it already!' Two days later, this happened! We do not believe in coincidences, and we know for sure that we are being guided, that we are manifesting all the time, and that our connection to the universe is strong. The whole series of events, from being pushed back by a crazy wind, to our discussion about Jenn not having her phone in the alley, from Jenn pointing towards the spotlight at the end of the alley and wanting to turn back, to then seeing this hovering ball of light. It did feel like we were meant to see this. This happened on October 15th, 2022, at 20:20, in Shortstown, Bedford, England. We felt compelled to come forward after watching The Lost Century by Steven Greer, who also made the documentary Unacknowledged and is the founder of the CE5 program. (We would recommend you check them out). We had a debrief in our back garden when we got back, admittedly super excited and still pretty shocked at what had transpired. Our home was only a few minutes' walk away from the spot we saw the UFO up close, and the direction as it flew away was directly above our home. As Leon looked up again at the sky, he swore he saw a distinctive light again, almost like a short, sharp shooting star; perhaps this was the final push out of the atmosphere. Either way, be it a ball of energy, an orb, a man-made technology, or a UFO, we do feel like we are not alone in this magnificent universe. Now more than ever. Lifestyle Resources

The decision to embark on the life-changing journey to explore and travel the world full-time is a big one... While we can list thousands of reasons why you should do so, we feel that it's important to also highlight the lesser-talked-about and more challenging aspects of this lifestyle choice, to help you be better equipped. These are our 5 top things to remember before you travel full-time... If you have any other suggestions, please drop them in the comments below! Key Takeaways ● It is a lifestyle, not a holiday: Full-time travel brings ongoing work—planning, budgeting, transport, accommodation, visas, connectivity, and daily decisions do not disappear just because the scenery changes. ● Prepare for personal change: Relationships, comfort, privacy, routines, and your sense of home may shift more than you expect, especially when travelling with a partner or spending long periods away. ● Know your foundations first: Reliable income, realistic budgeting, emotional resilience, and the ability to live with less matter far more than having a perfect itinerary. In This Post... 1. Full-Time Travel IS a Job 2. Relationships and Connections 3. Funding Your Travels 4. Letting go of Creature Comforts 5. Travel Alone or With Someone? ● FAQ ● Lifestyle Resources 1. Full-Time Travel IS a Job The colorful umbrellas at Balat Cafe in Istanbul So much goes into planning travels, especially if you are operating on a budget. So much research goes into finding adequate accommodations, places to stay, how to use the transportation systems, what neighborhood is ideal for you to stay in, and whether it meets your monthly budget. Travel by air or train requires using different systems in different languages. Visa costs and length of stay. Finding excursions and affordable food and restaurant costs. Changing costs of living are dependent upon the country. Learning about the cultural customs of the country you are visiting. And… then we do it all again the next month! 2. The Relationships & Connections You Lose May Surprise You (However, There Are More to Gain!) Be wise with your money. Many people will not understand your need or choice to travel the world. You may be surprised by the people you lose as you travel, but remember people can’t help but operate from a self-perspective. If they couldn’t imagine it or think it’s risky or selfish, that is about them, not you. People will miss you and what you bring to their lives. People may say that they will keep in touch, but you may see the video calls become further apart. Time zone differences, busy schedules, and the like can impact things. When you do return home after years or months of travel, you may feel that you no longer fit in, or better yet, that you no longer want to. 3. Make Sure You Can Fund Your Travels NOW Missing our creature comforts of home Social media will lead you to believe that it’s as simple as selling your belongings and hitting the road! With a few steps of setting up a blog, filming a YouTube video, and creating a dropshipping company, you can fund your travels. While these are great options and possibilities, like most things, it takes time and dedication towards things for them to grow and prosper. We suggest that you have a solid financial plan that is stable before considering full-time travel… While we fully believe in leaping first and that the universe must respond, we still think practicality is a good complement to this! 4. Can You Let Go of Your Creature Comforts? Jennifer David: A Broad Perspective This one, we think most people assume they can do no problem and then get surprised by the ebbs and flows of how this comes into play when traveling full-time. Living out of one suitcase (full seasonal wardrobe) is quite the challenge. Especially if you plan to film videos and take many photos … You’ll be wearing much of the same clothing throughout (unless you plan to shop and change often, which is a possibility, but also another expense to keep in mind). It’s really difficult to get things shipped or delivered when you are moving frequently. Many countries' postal systems are not up to par, so it can be very difficult to receive care packages or even online shopping. Snacks and foods you love from home will be missed. Trust us when we say Doritos DO NOT taste the same throughout the world, nor do most of the major fast food chains that you were hoping to have a bite at for a small taste of home. 5. Can You Be Alone or Full-Time Together With Your Travel Person? Spending a lot of time alone or with another person while traveling can easily lead to depression and anxiety, both from loneliness and co-dependency. When traveling solo, you need to remember that you may not speak the language, so communication and friendships can become very difficult. If you fall ill, you won’t have a support system with you. When traveling with a partner, you spend 24/7 together during high-stress times, and it’s not always easy to remain amicable when you are exhausted from travel or trying to overcome an obstacle or language barrier. It’s important to be very mindful of your mental health. Adequate sleep, diet, exercise, and listening to your body are very important. These points are not meant to discourage you from traveling. We believe it is of high importance and value to see as much of the world as possible in whatever way possible! However, like most things in life, there are good and bad sides to everything. Be bold. Be brave. Do the thing… (with wisdom). Follow along on our journey on YouTube. Have you been considering leaving it all behind to travel full-time? Let us know in the comments! FAQ: Full-Time Travel Do I need to save a lot of? Having savings helps, but you don’t need to be rich. Many full-time travelers start with a modest cushion and fund their journey through remote work, freelancing, house sitting, teaching English, or seasonal jobs. Planning and flexibility are key. Is it lonely being on the? It can be at times, but you’ll also meet people constantly, especially if you stay in hostels, join tours, or connect with online travel communities. The key is balancing solo time with social time and finding places where you feel a sense of belonging. How do you deal with? Long-term travelers usually buy global health or travel insurance like SafetyWing or World Nomads. Some countries also offer short-term local insurance for digital nomads or expats. It’s important to research coverage by region, especially for high-risk destinations or activities. What’s the biggest challenge? It’s not always picture-perfect. The biggest challenges are visa logistics, burnout, income stream maintenance, and finding stable Wi-Fi. You’ll also need to let go of routines and be open to frequent change. How do you pick where to go? It depends on your budget, visa access, weather preferences, and personal interests. Many travelers follow a mix of slow travel (spending weeks/months in one place) and spontaneous side trips. Flexibility is one of full-time travel’s biggest perks. Lifestyle Resources

This poem forms part of my Aftermath collection, a body of poetry written after meeting Jenn, during a period when love, reflection, and emotional clarity began to replace chaos. Written in 2020, Jacked began with a simple thought about the ever-changing impact of technology on our lives and, in true me style, quickly became a sprawling long-form poem. This was intended to be the first in a series exploring our increasingly complicated relationship with technology. It looks at the phones in our hands, the information we willingly surrender and the strange contradiction of feeling both liberated and controlled by the same devices. To be clear, I have never been against technology. Even when I was initially suspicious of devices such as Alexa back in the day, I could still see their convenience and potential. The question was never whether technology was good or bad. It was whether we understood just how deeply we were allowing it into our lives. To this day I ask myself... how much does our technology serve us... and how much have we started serving it? Are We Already Chipped? The “chip” in Jacked was never intended to be taken literally. We do not need something implanted beneath our skin when so many of us willingly carry a device capable of recording our locations, routines, interests, conversations, purchases, and relationships. That does not make the phone inherently sinister, though. It makes it extraordinarily powerful. Our phones can educate us, guide us through unfamiliar places, connect us with people across the world, and place almost unlimited information in our hands. They can also consume our attention, encourage compulsive behavior, and quietly turn our everyday activity into valuable data. Perhaps the most uncomfortable part is that we know this and, for the most part, continue regardless. I may reject an occasional app permission or check which cookies I am accepting, but I cannot pretend that I have removed myself from the system. I use technology constantly. I benefit from it. I enjoy it. Like so many of us, I am already deeply plugged in. That is the contradiction at the heart of Jacked: this is not a warning written from outside the machine. It is a confession from someone inside it. Reading Jacked Again in 2026 Reading this poem again in 2026, what strikes me most is not how much has changed, but how familiar it still feels. When I wrote Jacked, voice assistants were already entering our homes, and artificial intelligence was becoming more visible in everyday technology. Today, AI assistants can write, converse, remember preferences, interpret images, and become part of our daily routines. The invisible robots mentioned in the poem no longer feel particularly invisible. Yet the smallest behavior remains one of the most revealing: waking up and reaching for the phone. Sometimes it is genuinely to check the time. Then comes the notification panel, the messages, the emails, the news, and the social feeds. One purposeful action becomes ten automatic ones before the day has properly begun. I can still spend several hours a day on my phone, without including television, computers, and every other illuminated screen around me. Is that liberating, productive, and entertaining... or consuming, distracting, and frustrating? In truth, it can be all of those things at once. Before it reached the blog, sections of Jacked were originally shared through a series of Instagram posts: Selected artwork from the original Jacked Instagram poetry series, first shared in 2020 under my former Instagram handle, @leon.gregori213. The Invisible Weight of Digital Life The amount of digital information humanity creates continues to grow, and storing it requires physical infrastructure, raw materials, and immense quantities of energy. Back in 2020, I had encountered a provocative, fascinating paper by physicist Melvin Vopson called The Information Catastrophe. It explored what could theoretically happen if digital information continued growing at extreme rates. Under its most dramatic scenario—sustained annual growth of 50%—the paper calculated that digital bits could eventually outnumber all of the atoms on Earth. It also proposed that half of the planet’s mass could be represented by digital information by 2245. That was not a conventional prediction of what will happen. The calculation relied on an extreme growth rate and on the proposed mass–energy–information equivalence principle, which the paper acknowledged had not been experimentally verified. Nevertheless, the broader question remains valuable. Digital information may appear weightless, but producing, processing, and storing it has a very physical cost. Researchers are also exploring the possibility of storing digital information within synthetic DNA. The technology remains developing, but its potential storage density illustrates just how urgently we are searching for new ways to contain the data we continually create. Our digital lives may feel invisible, but the systems sustaining them are anything but. Final Thought How does your relationship with technology affect you? Does it make you feel liberated and connected, or consumed and frustrated? How long does it take before you check your phone after waking up... and how often do you pick it up without consciously deciding to? Digital wellbeing may ultimately depend less on rejecting technology and more on recognizing when we are choosing to use it... and when it is quietly choosing for us. The digital world is only moving forward. Refusing to participate completely could mean losing touch with a society now built around technology. Accepting everything without question, however, means surrendering more than we may realize. Perhaps we are already jacked. It is just a matter of how tightly we allow ourselves to remain plugged in. Join the Conversation Technology connects us, informs us, and makes countless parts of everyday life easier. Yet the same devices that give us freedom can also consume our attention, shape our habits, and collect more information about us than we may fully realize. Do you feel in control of your relationship with technology? Does your phone leave you feeling connected and empowered, or distracted and overly dependent? How long does it take you to reach for it after waking... and could you comfortably spend an entire day without it? I'd genuinely love to hear your thoughts. Come join the conversation: More From Leon... Reborn Written just days after meeting Jenn, this poem captures the exact moment everything changed: when love helped me become 'reborn.' About Leon Gregori I've been writing poetry since my mid-teens and find it natural to express myself through words. My long-form content focuses on themes of heartbreak and life. ⪢ Explore the Aftermath collection Discover more poems written after meeting Jenn, with reflections on love, trust, personal growth, creativity, and finding peace after life's darkest chapters. → View all Aftermath poems Poetry Resources

This poem forms part of my Out of the Shadows collection. It was written before I met Jenn and is shaped by searching, heartbreak, identity, and survival. The Game is a reflective piece from Chapter 6, Reborn. It explores the cyclical nature of modern life—eat, work, sleep, repeat—and how this relentless rhythm has shaped our humanity. Written after a long, exhausting day at work, it’s a poem born from the question many of us ask: 'Why am I doing this every day?' "Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated." -Confucius For me, The Game is about questioning the systems we’ve built around us. It challenges the pursuit of material success at the expense of our souls and asks whether we’re truly living—or just playing along. Join the Conversation Do you ever feel trapped by the cycle of modern life? What do you think it takes to break free and live with more purpose? I'd genuinely love to hear your story. Come join the conversation: More From Leon Conscience Explore the inner workings of the conscience. Delve into the balance between morality, instinct, and self-awareness captured through poetry. About Leon Gregori I've been writing poetry since my mid-teens and find it natural to express myself through words. My long-form content focuses on themes of heartbreak and life. ⪢ Explore the Out of the Shadows collection Read more poems from an earlier era of writing shaped by searching, heartbreak, identity, and survival. → View all Out of the Shadows poems Poetry Resources

This poem forms part of my Aftermath collection, poetry written after meeting Jenn, where love, reflection, and emotional clarity began to replace chaos. When I met Jenn, not only did I find true, epic love, but I was also met with an incredible dose of inspiration, creativity, and energy. It was in full force when we met, and it is just as strong now, manifesting in our art and our reality! This piece takes us back to the beginning, as we were crossing continents to see each other at every opportunity. Many nights we spent together, and many nights we spent apart. I wrote this after an evening walk alone, amid a very empty feeling after Jenn had flown back to Canada. The distance was tough, but tough moments make you stronger, and this was no different. "Distance is not for the fearful, it is for the bold. It’s for those who are willing to spend a lot of time alone in exchange for a little time with the one they love. It’s for those knowing a good thing when they see it, even if they don’t see it nearly enough." - Meghan Daum Thankfully for us, the 'distance' only lasted for 6 months before I packed up and left England behind for Canada. It worked out amazingly well, given that 3 months after my arrival, the country shut down due to Covid-19. I am so glad I was there when it happened because it was a good 12 months before they reopened the borders again! The Force was with us from the moment Jenn joined my poetry live on Instagram and sent me her poetry. We felt a tether and a connection immediately. That tether stretched not just from Canada to the UK but across previous lifetimes too! More on that in another post! It was all just part of the plan falling into place. A love greater than we even knew at the time. But we knew that we were meant to be together, and we knew this was the right moment, the right place, and the right time. Our love has been thriving ever since... The Force remains as strong as ever! Join the Conversation The Force isn’t just about love; it’s about destiny, creativity, and the inexplicable tether that brings two souls together. For Jenn and me, poetry was our introduction, but love was our ultimate bond. I'd genuinely love to hear your story. Come join the conversation: More From Leon Rise Reimagine love in Rise. Explore the transformative journey of love as an ascent to new heights, breaking free from the gravity of past hurts. About Leon Gregori I've been writing poetry since my mid-teens and find it natural to express myself through words. My long-form content focuses on themes of heartbreak and life. ⪢ Explore the Aftermath collection Discover more poems written after meeting Jenn. My reflections on love, connection, creativity, and emotional clarity. → View all Aftermath poems Poetry Resources

This poem forms part of my Aftermath collection, poetry written after meeting Jenn, where love, reflection, and emotional clarity began to replace chaos. By definition, conscience is our moral sense of right and wrong. A space where gut feelings, instinct, empathy, and compassion combine to (hopefully) point us on the right path. In this piece, I explore my own and its subterranean other, piecing it together in the only way I know how: through my poetry. “The only tyrant I accept in this world is the 'still small voice' within me. And even though I have to face the prospect of being a minority of one, I humbly believe I have the courage to be in such a hopeless minority.”― Mahatma Gandhi I love this quote because it does encapsulate the internal workings of our minds. There is the part that controls our body and its functions, and then there is the part that is 'us.' The 'invisible' voice, which, honestly, I am not even sure sounds like my actual one. The one that questions, triggers, compliments, and critiques. That voice is productive, obstructive, and all the in-betweens. Two as one and one as the same... conscience and mind constantly working to balance feelings and decisions. When I wrote this piece, I wanted to expose those inner workings, the swing of the pendulum that never seems to rest. So here it goes... welcome to the inner sanctum! Join the Conversation For me, conscience is about the dance between instinct and reason, between critique and compassion. It’s a conversation we all have within ourselves, whether we acknowledge it or not. What does your conscience sound like? Do you find it easy to listen to, or does it often conflict with your desires? I'd genuinely love to hear your story. Come join the conversation: More From Leon Rise Reimagine love in Rise. Explore the transformative journey of love as an ascent to new heights, breaking free from the gravity of past hurts. About Leon Gregori I've been writing poetry since my mid-teens and find it natural to express myself through words. My long-form content focuses on themes of heartbreak and life. ⪢ Explore the Aftermath collection Discover more poems written after meeting Jenn. My reflections on love, connection, creativity, and emotional clarity. → View all Aftermath poems Poetry Resources

This poem forms part of my Aftermath collection, poetry written after meeting Jenn, where love, reflection, and emotional clarity began to replace chaos. Is life a carefully woven tapestry, or do we truly have control over our path? These are the questions I explore in this poem, Woven. It delves into the intersections of destiny, manifestation, and human connection. These are the thoughts; this is the poetry! Questions Woven into the Fabric of Life Is there a predetermined path for us to follow? Do our desires and aspirations materialize as we wish? Can we make things happen? Since my youth, I have sensed something... a whisper... an unseen communication. Is this reality? Is life a complete mystery, or is there room for understanding? Are events truly 'meant to happen'... does luck play a role in our lives? Can we shape our destiny, or is it merely fate that has always been set? Within our subconscious, are we influenced by the universe? Do we truly have free will, or is it all preordained? Did we all originate from a single source? Whether through science or faith... the beginning or the smallest particle... without disregarding any belief system, are we all fundamentally connected? Interwoven? Our steps follow the paths of countless others who came before us... spirits traversing through past and future generations. We are continuously broadening our perspectives... pushing the boundaries until the thread unravels. Or is it simply handed down to the next generation? 'Life is so short and the years pass so quickly, we live our lives like we're on a rollercoaster and before we know it many things are missed out, not done, and sometimes, too late to catch up on. You are in the prime of your life now, enjoy every moment of happiness you have, because that is the fruit of life and you are blessed' That was from my mum, part of a message she sent to me after she finished reading my book (thanks, Mum). I guess it is so apt to place it with this piece... it meant a lot to me. As writers, we are blessed with the ability to leave our souls behind on paper... but let us not forget to enrich our souls and keep feeding them every day while we still can. Join the Conversation What do you think? Is life a predetermined journey, or are we shaping our paths every step of the way? I'd genuinely love to hear your story. Come join the conversation: More From Leon Fusion Fusion explores the way love rebuilds us, piece by piece. A reflection of how, even in moments of chaos or darkness, love can be the light. About Leon Gregori I've been writing poetry since my mid-teens and find it natural to express myself through words. My long-form content focuses on themes of heartbreak and life. ⪢ Explore the Aftermath collection Discover more poems written after meeting Jenn. My reflections on love, connection, creativity, and emotional clarity. → View all Aftermath poems Poetry Resources

This poem forms part of my Aftermath collection, poetry written after meeting Jenn, where love, reflection, and emotional clarity began to replace chaos. Barely a month after I met Jenn, something changed within me. She inspired me in ways I never knew possible. She evoked so many emotions and feelings... so much love and happiness and just endless positivity. She changed my life and continues to change it. Love is just so, so powerful! Six years ago, when I first posted this on Instagram, I was at the beginning of a path I didn’t know I needed but one that changed everything once I stepped onto it. Carving a Canyon was written during that moment. When love doesn’t just appear, it reshapes you. Love is just so powerful. Let those paths be carved. You never know. They might just be the one. Join the Conversation Love has a quiet way of changing us when we allow it. Have you ever met someone who reshaped your path without trying? I'd genuinely love to hear your story. Come join the conversation: More From Leon... Woven A soul-stirring poem about destiny, connection, and the invisible threads that bring us together. A quiet reminder that some bonds are meant to find us. About Leon Gregori I've been writing poetry since my mid-teens and find it natural to express myself through words. My long-form content focuses on themes of heartbreak and life. ⪢ Explore the Aftermath collection Discover more poems written after meeting Jenn. My reflections on love, connection, creativity, and emotional clarity. → View all Aftermath poems Poetry Resources

This poem forms part of my Aftermath collection, poetry written after meeting Jenn, where love, reflection, and emotional clarity began to replace chaos. There are times in life when things aren't just different; they are different. They show a change... a quiet turning point where the old fades away and the new begins to take shape. "Reborn" was written just three days after Jenn and I became official. Looking back, it still feels like a dream. Hard to believe it was 7 years ago now! I had just gotten home from work at the time the inspiration hit me with this poem. I was standing in the bathroom and washing my hands when I was overcome with a realization... a revelation. A feeling I embraced with open arms. After two hard years of being in the dark, I knew I had found her. I had found the one. And even more than that, I had found myself again. Before Jenn, life felt cold. Just the daily routine grind. I was moving, but not really going anywhere. Hope was there, but it was distant, like something I remembered rather than something I felt. Then she came into my life, and everything changed. This poem is the moment that change began. The shedding of my past, the fast release of everything that weighed me down, and the first step into something brighter. It reflects that instant where I realized I was no longer who I was… and the start of who I was to become. As I’ve explored throughout my debut poetry book, Out of the Shadows, growth often comes from dismantling who we were to rediscover who we are meant to be. Join the Conversation Love has a quiet way of changing us when we allow it. Have you ever met someone who shifted your entire path without even trying? I'd genuinely love to hear your story. Come join the conversation: More From Leon... Woven A soul-stirring poem about destiny, connection, and the invisible threads that bring us together. A quiet reminder that some bonds are meant to find us. About Leon Gregori I've been writing poetry since my mid-teens and find it natural to express myself through words. My long-form content focuses on themes of heartbreak and life. ⪢ Explore the Aftermath collection Discover more poems written after meeting Jenn. My reflections on love, connection, creativity, and emotional clarity. → View all Aftermath poems Poetry Resources

This poem forms part of my Aftermath collection, poetry written after meeting Jenn, where love, reflection, and emotional clarity began to replace chaos. There are moments in every new relationship where the past quietly finds its way into the present. Not because those feelings still exist, but because our history does. This poem came from one of those moments. When Jenn and I met through poetry, she wasn't just getting to know me; she was getting to know years of my writing. Years of poems about previous relationships, heartbreak, confusion, hope, and loss. Those poems eventually became Out of the Shadows, but before they were ever a book, they were simply honest snapshots of different moments in my life. And that made me nervous. Not because those poems reflected how I still felt... ...but because they reflected how I once felt. As poets, we don't write history books; we write emotion. A poem captures exactly how your heart felt in a single moment. That moment may last an hour, a day, or a season, but once it's written, it becomes permanent even though the emotion itself has long since passed. That's the strange thing about creative writing. Words stay still, but people generally do not. I found myself wondering how Jenn would feel reading poems written years before we had ever met. Would she understand that those emotions belonged to another version of me? Would she see them simply as chapters in a much bigger story? Or would they create doubts that never needed to exist? Those thoughts eventually became this piece, Judgement. Looking back today, I realize the irony. If those earlier poems had never existed... Jenn may never have discovered me on Instagram. Those poems were the very reason our paths crossed in the first place. The past wasn't something working against us but something that had quietly brought us together. Jenn understands this better than most because she's a poet too. She also has shelves of old notebooks and years of writing born from different chapters of her own life. Occasionally an old piece can still make either of us pause for a moment. That's only human, but poetry isn't a declaration of who we are forever. Poetry is a record of who we were when the words arrived. There's a huge difference. Over time I've come to believe something quite simple. Our past explains us. It doesn't imprison us. Every relationship, every mistake, every heartbreak, and every lesson quietly shapes the person standing in front of you today. Without those experiences... ...there is no present version of us. As I've explored throughout Out of the Shadows, growth has never been about pretending the past didn't happen. It's about understanding it, learning from it, appreciating it for what it taught us, and then choosing to keep walking forward. No judgement. Join the Conversation Every one of us carries a history. Some chapters are beautiful. Some we'd rather forget. But none of them automatically define the person we've become. Do you think someone's past should influence a new relationship? Are there things you believe should stay in the past, or are there experiences that would genuinely change how you see someone? I'd genuinely love to hear your thoughts. Come join the conversation: More From Leon... Reborn Written just days after meeting Jenn, this poem captures the exact moment everything changed: when love helped me become 'reborn.' About Leon Gregori I've been writing poetry since my mid-teens and find it natural to express myself through words. My long-form content focuses on themes of heartbreak and life. ⪢ Explore the Aftermath collection Discover more poems written after meeting Jenn, with reflections on love, trust, personal growth, creativity, and finding peace after life's darkest chapters. → View all Aftermath poems Poetry Resources