creative writing

Next Time – Poem by Me

BrookeLeave a comment 
are you ready to move on
    i've never felt farther apart

i could yell a thousand reasons why we failed
    but we could both retort with a thousand why we should stay

and i don't want to stay but 
    you don't want to leave and it's hard for me to let go

i could tell myself that next time i'll stand up
    for myself and next time it will be different but

we both know that would be a lie. so i'll say
    goodbye, and next time i see you i'll say hello, how

are you doing? and next time my eyes land on 
    someone new, hopefully things will be different

and it won't be a lie.

I hope you enjoyed this piece! Please let me know if you have any feedback or any writing challenges you’d like me to try out in the near future. Make sure to stay safe and healthy out there.

Brooke

In The Distance – Poem by Me

BrookeLeave a comment 
speeding down the freeway in California
it's a hot summer day but there's no traffic
around you; most people are coming in
but you're going out and leaving this place.

they say hindsight vision is 20/20, but
the mountains and blue skies blur behind
you. you only have eyes for what lies 
ahead. you could keep driving forever, 

stretching your existence across the country
like a rubber band and scattering the pieces
as you go, but you're going to stop when you 
get that feeling that it's time.

somewhere in the distance, that place awaits you.

I hope you enjoyed this piece! It’s also a short one, but it just felt dreamy. I wish I could go on a road trip and leave the state right now. I’m a few months away from getting my license (actually who knows how long since the DMVs aren’t taking new appointments) and I dream of the days I can drive by myself and/or go on road trips. Please let me know what you thought of this piece and if you have any requests/writing challenges for me to use in the future. Stay safe and healthy.

Brooke

A Power Within – Poem by Me

BrookeLeave a comment 
to know without doing
to feel without seeing
i sense something brewing
inside of me

a ball of energy
warms my being and 
i feel it flowing, trying
to escape and perspire

out on the surface. 
it must come naturally
but it doesn't feel 
natural. stuck on an 

endless loop, i try to 
extract it. the power
within me is about to
be harnessed.

I hope you enjoyed this piece! I know it was kind of a short and sappy one, but I was inspired to write it since I’m currently reading a self-help book (The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer if you’re curious). Please let me know if you have any feedback on this piece or writing challenges you’d like to me to try out in the near future. Stay safe and healthy.

Brooke

June Days – Poem by Me

BrookeLeave a comment 
these are the days. June is spent out in the
budding sunshine next to the budding flowers

we bud like flowers in the sunshine. 

June is spent underwater, splashing in the 
pool and skin getting a few shades darker

our skin darkens while we splash underwater.

but we can't really splash underwater. our limbs
cut through the water and continue to be 

surrounded by more water. we are water,
we are sunshine, we are flowers.

we are growing and changing in June with the seasons.

I hope you enjoyed this piece! It was definitely a fun, feel-good one to write. Please let me know if you have any feedback on this piece or any writing challenges you’d like me to try my hand at in the near future. Stay safe and healthy out there– I can’t believe it’s already June.

Brooke

Education Proclamation – Prose

BrookeLeave a comment

I want to know why our country doesn’t value education. I want to know why schools are underfunded, why children aren’t even educated on the workings of this country, and why younger generations are constantly cut down and called lazy and stupid when most of these kids aren’t given a chance to learn and grow. It’s a broken system.

I want to know why my governor (California– Gavin Newsom) proposed to cut funding for schools by 10% when our state ranks towards the bottom half of all rankings I’ve seen for public schools/education in the country. Schools are already so strapped for money, even in mainly well-off areas like where I live. He’s probably never attended a public school in his life.

I want to know why our government doesn’t prioritize the next generation when they are this country’s future.

I want to know why wealthy people, some of whom have never stepped foot in a public school, have control over the public school system. Not only do they have control, but they don’t even prioritize it or work towards making it better. Budget cuts increases every year, the schools suffer, and the students suffer. It’s a cycle.

It frustrates me that in such a wealthy, technologically advanced country, our education systems are lacking. Our education system is so inadequate compared to European countries and such.

I am lucky enough to go to school in a highly-ranked school district in my state since I commute to school, and I recognize that my school exceeds the state/country standards in many ways. However, I still get fired up about this topic because my education has been such an integral part of my life so far and I want other kids to have the same opportunities nationwide.

If you are eligible to vote, please do when it’s the time to do so. Vote for candidates that understand how important education and our public schools are to communities and to securing a better future for America’s youth. Vote for candidates that plan to serve everyone as best as they can, especially the next generation that is growing up during these scary times.

I hope you enjoyed this piece. It’s definitely more political, but it’s something I’ve been dying to say and needed to formulate into words and throw out into the universe. Stay safe and healthy.

Brooke

Why Don’t You Care? – Poem by Me

Brooke1 Comment 
i've lost count of how many nights i've laid here
            without hearing from you, wondering when i would
now i don't wonder when, i just wonder if
            write it off as foolish young love-- not even love,

infatuation. first, i schemed to get your attention. of course you
            already know that failed, but at the time i couldn't
believe it. the next step in my plan was having an honest 
            conversation with you. i should've realized that's impossible.

you're anything but honest. i would give up completely,
            but that would end this game of wondering who's going
to give up first. i guess i can't let go of you just yet
             half of me still believes you care. the other half

remains asking why you don't.

I hope you enjoyed this piece! It’s definitely a lighter one than the last few I’ve posted. Please let me know if you have any feedback on this post or any writing challenges you’d like me to try out in the future. Stay safe and healthy.

Brooke

Time Is Running Out – Poem by Me

BrookeLeave a comment 
the clock is ticking; the alarm's about to go
off. it's up to you whether you want to turn

it off, ignore it before the ringing blares
throughout your ears or roll out of bed and

face the world. you choose to face the world
today. a smear of red lipstick and a tousling of

two-day old hair will suffice-- who knows
what's hiding around the corner from you 

today. you don't waste a moment. not on getting
ready, not checking up on current events, not 

on early morning coffee. it's your day, and you're
not letting it escape your clutches.

I hope you enjoyed this piece! I feel like it expresses how a lot of young people feel– the world is a scary and overwhelming place, and some young people stay away from the media and informing themselves. However, it is so important to educate yourself, no matter how hard the information is to stomach sometimes! We are all in this together. Stay safe and healthy.

Brooke

Black Lives Matter – Poem by Me

BrookeLeave a comment 
black lives matter because they are lives
and if they don't matter then no lives 
matter because this is america and we're
supposed to be the land of equality, freedom,
and opportunity but that's the farthest thing
from the truth when these injustices happen
all too often and racists who have shown
the utmost cruelty get to walk free or 
walk with their reputation preserved.
an arrest is a start but it's not enough. 
until we make this place a safe place for 
all regardless of the color of your skin we 
can't go on. be an ally, use your voice, stand
up, and let it be known.
black lives matter.

I hope this piece resonated with some of you guys. I still can’t completely formulate my thoughts and fully express the strong emotions I have towards the horrible events that have recently occurred. If you are white like me, please acknowledge your white privilege and please use your voice to be an ally and stand up for these minorities. We need to change the attitude in this country, and you can help. Sign petitions, donate to reputable organizations, and look up other ways to help. We’re all in this together, or at least, we should be. Stay safe and healthy.

Brooke

Stand Together – Poem by Me

BrookeLeave a comment 
self-serving doesn't really serve you
when our world is falling apart

stand up for what's right, stand together
with your friends, neighbors, community

and be an ally. stand tall, proud,
and use your voice to speak for those

who can't, out of fear or inability or 
anything else. the world is in shambles

but you're not. you're powerful, brave, 
and can help change the world if you're

willing to try to move mountains. to
push yourself up against walls that

have never really been broken through,
only fortified. keep pushing.

if we're not together, we don't stand a 
chance. if we stand as one, we can make it

all happen.

I hope you enjoyed this piece. It’s one of a few I’ll be writing to address the events that occurred last week. I pre-write and schedule my posts a week in advance so that’s why this is coming late, but don’t mistake me as someone who was avoiding speaking out on the situation! Please let me know if you have any feedback on this piece, and make sure to stay safe and healthy.

Brooke

Goldenrod – Poem by Me

BrookeLeave a comment 
the Crayola crayon that you used to color in the
sun in the upper left-hand corner of the page

the vibrance of the honey blond color 
found in the tips of your hair after summer

the centers of the wildflowers blooming; you
notice them on a hike by the beach

more than golden, but golden more than 
anything else

I hope you enjoyed this short piece! It was fun to write– I really did love that “goldenrod” crayon in the Crayola 64-pack. 🙂 Please let me know if you have any feedback on this piece or any writing challenges you’d like me to try my hand at in the near future. Stay safe and healthy.

Brooke