My name is Gloria (in Excelsis Deo), or as one of my online poet friends, Shuku Li, doodled me beautifully as Gloria in Excelsis Alright. Am I religious? Well, I don't know what that means. However, I pray, speak, or vent to the sky, trees, flowers, Maria, Jesus, God, and mountains. I have read the Koran to inspire a presentation on environmental protection and visited inside of a mosque when allowed. I wish all religious houses were open to anyone wishing for silence, reflection, and spirit seeking.

That foreign surname: Gonsalves, Gonzalez, Gonzalves, Gonsalvas, Gonsa, ...

Born and raised in Tanzania, I have lived in Ireland, and my current home is in Germany.

My surname, Gonsalves, is of Portuguese origin (Gonçalves) because my paternal grandfather is/was of Goan ancestry from India. Goa was a Portuguese colony. That grandfather had a relationship with my grandmother, who is a descendant of the enslaved people from the DR Congo, freed in Bagamoyo, Tanzania, and settled in the country. My maternal side hails from Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

I write not for a living but servicing.

I have been writing poetry for twenty years and still learning how to do it right. Poetry is a medium for me to learn, teach, and advocate. As a poet, I focus on maintaining, passing, and adding to poetry so it lives on for the next generation. Numbers do not play a role in my writing. I create to service, not to prove that I am better based on my follower numbers or shares. As I have intentionally opted out of public speaking, you can hear me speak through my writing.

To know me is to answer or simply read the following questions.

Do you dunk your cookie or bread in tea?

Do you share recipes with measurements or narrate your recipe like it were a prose without numbers?

Do you rush or wait to tell the moon of something joyful or painful? Do you go to bed sad when you cannot spot the star or planet you just learned about the night before? Do you love to walk alone in the forest and speak to squeaking trees or go about apologizing to the leaves for the bird droppings on their glorious wax?

Do you bow to the mushrooms to greet their kings, queens, and subjects?

Do you talk to the mushrooms and ask them to help with the continuation of a story you already shared with the world and have no idea how to end it?