# Poetry Is the Algorithm of Feeling
Before I wrote my first line of code, I wrote my first poem. Before I understood databases, I understood rhythm. Poetry isn't just something I do: it's how I process being alive.
The Beginning
I grew up between cultures: Ugandan roots, South African soil, Zulu and English dancing on my tongue. Poetry became the bridge. When I couldn't find words in one language, I'd find them in verse.
"Inside Her Roses"
In October 2021, I published my collection: 82 poems exploring love, identity, healing, and Black womanhood. The title is intentional, roses grow through concrete, bloom despite thorns. So do we.
Themes I Explore
Romance & Sensuality captures love in all its forms: tender, fierce, complicated. Identity & Healing explores what it means to become yourself, again and again. Empowerment treats poetry as resistance, beauty as rebellion.
From Page to Screen
When I was featured on "Gqeberha: The Empire," my words reached thousands of living rooms. There's something sacred about that, your most vulnerable thoughts entering strangers' homes and finding resonance.
Radio interviews on Madiba FM and TRU FM followed. Each time, the same question: "Why poetry in a digital age?"
My answer: Because we're more disconnected than ever, and poetry is a technology of connection.
The Book Launch
I organized everything myself. Crowdfunded, self-coordinated, fully executed. 100+ attendees for a combined poetry workshop and dining experience. Main character energy before it was a trend.
That night taught me: you don't need permission to share your gifts. You need courage.
Poetry Meets Code
Now I write React components and sonnets. Both are languages. Both require structure and creativity. Both are ways of building bridges between what exists and what could be.
When I built the AI chatbot for this site, I approached it like poetry, what feeling do I want to evoke? What rhythm should the conversation have?
Finding Your Voice
If you've ever wanted to write but felt you "weren't a writer," hear this:
Everyone has a poem inside them: it might be about your grandmother's hands or the way your city smells after rain. Bad poems come before good ones, so write them anyway. Your voice matters because no one else can tell your specific truth.
Where to Find My Work
The book "Inside Her Roses" is available on Amazon, Apple Books, Kobo, and major retailers. Online, you can find me on Wattpad (@NandaRegine), AllPoetry (@Nanda_Regine), and Instagram (@nanda.regine). For live experiences, I'm available for speaking engagements and poetry workshops.
What would you write if you weren't afraid?
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