Author: Brooke

Which Box Are You In? – Poem by Me

BrookeLeave a comment 
If you know me, you know how I like to put
things into boxes. It's hard to place which box
you belong in. You're too colorful, too surprising
for me to sort you just yet.

Each box on my desk calendar filled in with tiny
handwriting, each box in my closet packing away
memories that deserve to be kept but belong 
in the past, each box reveals something.
Except you.

I hope you enjoyed this piece! Admittedly, I’m one of those obsessive organizers who has to file every piece of information in my brain and constantly keep my room tidy, so this was a natural thing to write about. Please feel free to share feedback and writing challenges in the comments. Stay safe and healthy out there.

Brooke

Join and Submit to Intersections Magazine!

BrookeLeave a comment

Hello everyone!

Today I’m going to talk briefly about something super exciting I’ve been working on! I’ve always wanted to start my own literary magazine, and I finally decided to run with my ideas and try to get it off the ground. It’s for teens, by teens, so there are age limits– we accept submissions from youth ages 13-19 and we accept staff applications from high school and college students. If you’re interested in learning more about the magazine, keep on reading!

Here’s the mission statement from our website: We seek to bridge the gap between literary work and the current state of our world. We would love to see writing that tackles serious topics that affect youth today, including but not limited to social justice, mental health, and the current COVID-19 pandemic. Our goal is to amplify the underrepresented youth voice, and be at the intersection of imagination and reality. This is an interactive publication, and we want pieces published here to open up a conversation.

Additionally, I had the idea to work on a special project called the Redefine Rejection Project. Rejection is a huge part of life, and it especially comes through as a hard punch in the literary world. It’s so gut-wrenching when you pour your heart into a piece and it gets rejected from a contest or publication, but it doesn’t define you or your work. That’s why I wanted to highlight work that people have had rejected.

Here’s the description of the project from our website: We want to start a conversation about rejection in the literary world. Feel free to share a favorite line (or multiple) from a piece of yours that’s been rejected from a contest or publication. These will be shared on our social media accounts and on a special section of our website. You may choose whether you would like to be acknowledged or you would like the line(s) to be recognized anonymously. Rejection doesn’t define us, but we can redefine rejection.

If you’re interested in submitting to the magazine, please use this form or check out our website to find the same form there.

If you’re interested in applying to be on our staff, please use this form or check out our website to find the same form there.

If you’re interested in submitting a line or a few lines of your work to the Redefine Rejection Project but not submitting to the actual magazine, please use this form or check out our website to find the same form there.

If you have any questions, please message me or leave them in the comments so I can address them! I would love for you guys to check out the magazine. You can also check us out at @intersectionslitmag on Instagram, and we’ll probably make a Twitter account soon. Thank you so much for your support on this blog– it’s one of the main reasons I thought taking on another project like this would be possible 🙂

Brooke

In The Fishbowl – Poem by Me

BrookeLeave a comment 
Sometimes when I feel pressed up against glass,
I have to remind myself if I was really trapped,
I could break it.
It makes me feel better to be in control, but I know
that sounds silly when none of us really do.
Large round eyes like a fish swimming around
in its bowl, another characteristic to make me feel
more and more like an exhibit in an aquarium, 
but not even important enough to be the shark
in the huge tank that everyone wants to look at.
Stuck as an object in this place, yet nobody stands
and admires... 
is it time to break the glass yet?

I hope you enjoyed this piece! Funny side note– when I looked up “fishbowl” on Unsplash to find a picture to accompany this piece, only one picture came up. I actually love the picture I chose, but I just found it funny that a fishbowl would be such an uncommon thing to photograph. Please feel free to leave comments and writing challenges in the comments. Stay safe and healthy out there.

Brooke

A Visit Between Pages – Poem by Me

BrookeLeave a comment 
You whispered to me behind that canvas 
I keep on the shelf, and I knew it was time
to open up your pages again. Say hello,
walk into your world and act like it was my
own for a while. It's not me neglecting
reality, it's being nostalgic, or at least that's
what I tell myself. You won't comment, 
because you don't know any better 
and you're just happy for a breath, 
the removal of the thin layer of dust 
on your cover. When your story comes 
to an end, you'll ask me to read it again.
That's the reason why we buy books and keep
them on shelves, right?

I hope you enjoyed this piece! It’s based off a strong itch I had this week to reread The Selection series (only the first three books… there is something left to be desired about the last two and I’m much more attached to the story of the original trilogy). It’s nice to dive into an old book, and I find it can feel like much more of an escape than reading something new and having to get to know characters and decipher meanings. That being said, I’m also the kind of person who will rewatch a TV show over thirty times, so I guess it’s just a personal problem. 🙂 Please feel free to leave feedback and writing challenges in the comments. Stay safe and healthy out there.

Brooke

Empty Rooms – Poem by Me

BrookeLeave a comment 
I like emptiness until you leave. Look at this room,
a blank canvas, space for us to make our own. 
The light bounces off the white walls and your smile,
our voices echo through the halls, large shadows
of our own laughter. Let this emptiness be hope, 
promise, a starting point. I can't walk into an empty
room with you and be sad anymore. Even walking
away is only a reminder there's something better 
for us in the works, and we'll find it, together.

I hope you enjoyed this piece! I don’t understand how so many of the poems I write end up about relationships or at least appear to be about relationships when I’m not in one. The inspiration for this piece was not romantic at all– I started off with the image of our house being emptier now that my grandma’s moved out. Clearly my subconscious is up to something! Please feel free to share feedback and writing challenges in the comments. Stay safe and healthy out there.

Brooke

Learning to Run – Poem by Me

BrookeLeave a comment 
I used to have sea legs, and not because I walked
on water, but because I didn't feel whole on land.

You taught me how to crawl, then walk, and now
we're hand-in-hand on the boardwalk watching 

the sky turn a thousand colors, a cocktail of warmth
and beauty before our eyes. I still can't do the five

o'clock in the morning jogs, but my legs are getting
stronger. I'll run with you, soon and forever.

I hope you enjoyed this short little piece! It sounds more dramatic than it is– I basically based it off of the fact I hate to run, and went from there. Trust me, I’ve tried to like it! It’s just not my exercise of choice. Please feel free to leave feedback and writing challenges in the comments. Stay safe and healthy out there.

Brooke

Look Into My Jumbled Mind – Poem by Me

BrookeLeave a comment 
An explosion of color, checkpoints that don't
quite match up, there's something for everyone
in here, but I'm only inviting you to step inside
and look around. You know how I feel about

making myself vulnerable-- it makes my stomach
drop and my mouth go dry. So for now, we'll 
walk through this maze together. There's the 
memories of moments together, glances

in hallways and conversations between meals.
We'll take a detour past the song lyrics and books
that remind me of you. Soon, there's nothing left
to take but detours. I don't want you to get stuck

in here forever, so I push you out--back into 
the real world-- silently. Only I remain, 
as always.

I hope you enjoyed this piece! It was a fun one to write as clearly, I do spend a lot of time wandering around in my mind and trying to make my thoughts coherent so I can write about them. Please feel free to share feedback and writing challenges in the comments. Stay safe and healthy out there.

Brooke

Say Hello To The Neighborhood – Poem by Me

BrookeLeave a comment 
Wave hello to the couple next door, and their
baby boy too. Greet the older man across the 

street, the younger woman always on a jog, 
the preteen boys skateboarding down the greenbelt.

Stop to pet each dog you pass, if their owners are
friendly and allow it, of course.

Be friendly, say hello, and you will no longer be
alone, walking in the neighborhood.

I hope you enjoyed this piece! It’s a super short collection of thoughts I had surrounding my daily walks and the people I see everyday throughout my neighborhood. Please feel free to leave feedback and writing challenges in the comments. Stay safe and healthy out there.

Brooke

Ode to My Biggest Hater – Poem by Me

BrookeLeave a comment 
Who knows where I would be without your
presence, your advice, your cut-downs, your
insults?

Now I am strong, I stand tall, and I wait for 
better things to find me, the pull of sunshine
into my orbit. You have made me shape myself

into who I am, so 
                                thank you.

Your unsolicited service will not be forgotten,
never erased from the corners of my crinkly brain,
even when it's old and shriveled.

There is too much to say, and yet not the right words
to say it, so 
                    thank you.

I hope you enjoyed this piece! It felt really liberating to write, especially since the person that inspired this poem was on my mind and I needed to channel some positive energy. I encourage you all to write a similar poem if you’re feeling upset about a person that brings negativity into your life. Please feel free to share feedback and writing challenges in the comments. Stay safe and healthy.

Brooke

Let’s Talk: Writing About Coronavirus

BrookeLeave a comment

Hello everyone!

Today I wanted to discuss my thoughts on writing about coronavirus. It makes sense to write about things that affect you and you have personal experience with, which means a lot of writing about coronavirus is happening right now. I’ve written a couple pieces about it myself on this blog that you may have seen. I’m not saying it’s a good or bad thing– no writing topic is simply good or bad. If you want to hear the rest of my thoughts on this hot topic translating into your writing, keep on reading.

As I already briefly mentioned, I think it’s so important that we see pieces that reflect the crazy times we’re in now! However, I know that for me personally, it’s really hard to put my own personal twist on this topic. I’ve been very careful about social distancing and there’s only so many things I can write about being stuck in my house.

I’m also lucky enough to not know anyone personally who’s had the virus yet or particularly suffered from having the virus– my family members and friends are thankfully safe. I don’t have a personal experience to write about in this area, and I’m not in a place where I want to find one.

I’ve come to the point where I want to write about anything else as an escape from reality and a reminder of different, happier times. If you’re at that point too, that’s not a bad thing either. Write about whatever comforts you and gets you through living in these times.

Conversely, if you need to write about COVID-19 and related things to cope with the situation and get those feelings out on the page, of course do that! Besides, who am I to tell you what to write anyway? 🙂 As we’re all probably familiar with, writing is just another form of freedom of expression that makes our lives more bearable.

As with any topic you plan to write about, write your truth, and write it your way. I have enjoyed hearing about other people’s perspectives on this situation– the bad, the good, all of it together. This is definitely a strange time that needs to be documented, and there’s plenty of free time to sit down and document it. Similarly, there’s plenty of free time to read about it and keep up with the news.

There’s also so much going on in our world right now that’s not directly related to COVID-19. 2020 has been an absolute rollercoaster, and the political climate is intense right now in the USA because of the upcoming election. You can write about these topics if you want without mentioning COVID-19 at all, and they’re just as relevant!

I hope this was sparked some inspiration or other thoughts for you all! I just wanted to have a sort of reminder that this is a great time to write, whether it’s about what’s going on in the world or not. Please feel free to leave your thoughts on this in the comments. Stay safe and healthy out there!

Brooke