This semester, I am enrolled in a "Forms of Poetry" course so I can learn about the various types before I take the "Poetry Workshop" next semester. We have had a few workshop days already in which a number of students bring their own poems to be read and critiqued by the rest of the class. I brought this one I wrote outside of class to my workshop day. It doesn't fit any specific form that we have covered so far, but rather my own free verse.
I originally wrote both of the stanzas as two separate poems, but later decided they could probably go together to form one longer poem and I modified them to be more cohesive. I usually have a problem with titling my work (especially poems), but I'm glad I came up with this sort of oxymoron of being fragile yet strong at the same time. I believe it fits well with the overall theme of the piece. My classmates generally seemed to enjoy it so I hope you will find it as empowering and inspiring as they did!
delicate resilience
I like to think that
people
are similar to pieces of paper
once you have crumpled
them up into little balls
they may be able to return to an earlier form
but they will never be the same again
they will always have scars
from manmade creases and depressions
at some point, they may disintegrate
as soon as the fingers from a flame
graze their edges
crumple us up
and throw us away
set us on fire
and burn us alive
until like a phoenix
we rise from the ashes
of our former selves
born again into a world
that will continue gnashing its teeth
only making us stronger
as we cling to these
new formidable beings
we have molded ourselves into
I like to think that
people
are similar to pieces of paper
once you have crumpled
them up into little balls
they may be able to return to an earlier form
but they will never be the same again
they will always have scars
from manmade creases and depressions
at some point, they may disintegrate
as soon as the fingers from a flame
graze their edges
crumple us up
and throw us away
set us on fire
and burn us alive
until like a phoenix
we rise from the ashes
of our former selves
born again into a world
that will continue gnashing its teeth
only making us stronger
as we cling to these
new formidable beings
we have molded ourselves into
**Life update: Some of you may not know, so I guess I should tell you that I have been given a [volunteer] position on my university's literary magazine staff this year. As a Fiction Judge, I'll be able to read submissions for the magazine and help decide if they should be included or sent back to the student authors for revision and re-submission.
My school's literary magazine has also just started its first-ever podcast in which select student works will be read on the show, followed by interviews with the authors/musicians of the pieces. I submitted a poem of mine for the Halloween Edition and I should be hearing about whether it got accepted pretty soon. If it's accepted for the podcast, I'll get to talk about it to all the listeners!
Both of these opportunities are quite exciting for me (even though I'm always apprehensive about sharing/talking about my own writing). The staff position will give me experience to put on future job applications and being published in a college literary magazine (in print, online, or even podcast form) will also help my credibility and potential for a future career in writing.
Hopefully as more of my writing gets read at school, I'll become confident enough to share it here on my blog for an even wider audience.
My school's literary magazine has also just started its first-ever podcast in which select student works will be read on the show, followed by interviews with the authors/musicians of the pieces. I submitted a poem of mine for the Halloween Edition and I should be hearing about whether it got accepted pretty soon. If it's accepted for the podcast, I'll get to talk about it to all the listeners!
Both of these opportunities are quite exciting for me (even though I'm always apprehensive about sharing/talking about my own writing). The staff position will give me experience to put on future job applications and being published in a college literary magazine (in print, online, or even podcast form) will also help my credibility and potential for a future career in writing.
Hopefully as more of my writing gets read at school, I'll become confident enough to share it here on my blog for an even wider audience.
Anyway, thanks for reading!
~Say Love <3
~Say Love <3