So It's Been A While { poetry included }

Well, this is kind of awkward. I forgot about this site until... today? I don't think I'll be coming back here fulltime to write just because I'm in college and busy and live on campus and all sorts of things. However, I figured I could post some poetry here and get some feedback. I'm taking a creative writing class this semester and I have been forced to write so much poetry, so I figured I'd post some. 

I'd love to hear feedback and see what you guys have to say!

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"A Shoe’s Lament"


A hundred miles to my name,

I took him everywhere he went.

Saw the world, right by his side,

Viewed sights

That made tears run from his eyes.



Time ticked by,

With it, so did I.

Grew old,

Got holes—

A result of carrying him where he needed to go.



And he betrayed me,

Got tired of me—

Threw me in a plastic bag and tossed me away.

And now, here I sit

A lonely, old king

On a throne of garbage;

Lord of this landfill

With only my memories to keep me sane.

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"The Dead People I've Buried in Your Backyard"


There’s a lot of people

Buried back there.

Some were given proper, respectful burials

With flowers, headstones, and tears.

Others dumped like garbage;

Thrown out without a care in the world,

Happy, sad to say, to be rid of them.

Some have a little dirt thrown on top—

A sign of neutrality, I suppose—

Not someone hated, but not one to be missed.

Others rot away, flesh melting in the sun.



You probably wonder why I chose you

And your poor backyard for my cemetery.

I guess you make it easier.

I cope with loss when you’re there, with me.

I tell you what happened, what they did to me.

And you listen. And you nod.

You know the names on each and every tombstone,

And the stories behind each and every one.

You help me get over the people—

The ones that left me,

And the ones I couldn’t save.

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"Fire"


The dancing flames

The red flower

So many names

For this glowing ember.



It is death;

A field of smoke

That steals your breath

And makes you choke.



It is ash;

Burning and scorching all

Only with water does it clash,

For then it meets its downfall.



It is pain;

Sharp and sizzling,

Destruction’s sparking reign;

All hail to the king.



But fire is not just all those things.

It is something else too;

Something that goes back to nature’s bindings,

It was something we needed to do.



It is light;

Illumination,

Bright,

Not some foul demon.



It is heat;

That drives out night’s chill

That cooks the food we eat—

We use it still.



Everything that we perceive

Can be considered a subjective view;

The meaning is what we conceive,

But that meaning is not always true.

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"The Devil of Love"


“What’s your name?”

He asked me, emerald eyes

Shining, glinting.

I told him,

And he smiled.

“That’s a pretty name.”



My heart burst,

Exploded

Like confetti.

I fought the urge to shake my head.

It was too sudden,

Too rash,

Too bold—

Too much like those fairytales

Love at first sight

Doesn’t exist.



What even was this?

Where did one draw

That fine line

Between love and lust?

Where did lust end

And love begin?

Or vice versa?



“Thank you,” I told him.

There were a million

Butterflies fluttering around

In my stomach,

Bouncing off the walls,

Buzzing,

As though they were a swarm

Of bees instead.



He smiled at me.

“Don’t mention it, _________.”



An electric shock ran up my spine;

My name on his lips

Was nearly enough

To make me swoon.



The sun beat down on us

In that alleyway between

The pizza shop and

The wine store.

The smell of garlic drifted

From the pizzeria’s vents—

When in Rome…



“Hey,” his voice snapped

Me out of my thoughts.

This boy, sitting there

Across from me.

I’d met him just a few hours ago.

Walked with him,

Talked with him,

And here I was—

A foolish girl with foolish fantasies,

Thinking he could love me.



“Are you okay?”



I wanted to tell him no,

Not really.

How could I be?

Here I was, falling

For someone I barely knew.

Knowing how out

Of my league he was;

Knowing

There was no chance for us.



“Yes.”



He frowned,

As though he saw through

My lie.

“You promise me, ________?”



I gulped.

“Yes. I promise.”



And with that promise—

The concern in his eyes,

How his eyebrows knit together,

How his lips formed a little pout—

I was lost.



I surrendered myself to him

And I didn’t even realize it.

I would have done anything

He asked of me.

For I had sold my soul

To the devil of love.

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