Look in the mirror
See a different person every time
I begin to wonder when it will become
clear who she really is
How can I distinguish between
masked facade and true self
when it all changes each day?
It becomes easy to focus on looks
when that's the only constant
in a person. My hair, my eyes, 
the softened edges of my face--
a familiar exterior ponders 
what is truly inside
and how I will find out.

I hope you enjoyed this super short piece! It was a slight bit dramatized but it was still something I’d been wanting to write. Please feel free to leave feedback or writing challenges in the comments. Stay safe and healthy out there.

Brooke

Not lying really, just sitting
I am always truthful to you
Tapping my fingers
on my steering wheel,
I think of how much has changed
in these short few months 
that bleed together--
there is so much we're still waiting
for. The roads we take everyday
are bridges to what's to come
and we both know this is not the end.
The sun peeks through cloud cover
and for the first time this spring,
we can really see it shine. 
Another reminder that time is fleeting
and something is coming.
I would wait here forever, but
it won't take that long.

I hope you enjoyed this short poem! Happy National Poetry Writing Month 🙂 I have to admit this poem was partially inspired by “Wait For It” from Hamilton. I listen to the Hamilton soundtrack more than I’d like to admit, and my favorite songs shift every few months… I bet you can guess what one of my current favorites is! Please feel free to leave feedback or writing challenges in the comments. Stay safe and healthy out there.

Brooke

Early morning, short commute
Feeling careless on a Friday
and so is everyone else;
a man stops in the middle
of the on-ramp your car
climbs every morning, 
mornings just like this one
A line of red glares, brake
lights abruptly on as we
all stomp our feet on the pedal
He shrugs and keep walking
We all must go
What if someone hadn't stopped?
These are the questions I ponder
because somewhere else,
sometime else,
it all could end very differently.

I hope you enjoyed this short piece! It’s actually a very simplified description of the fear I experienced when driving to school earlier on the day I’m writing this. Luckily no one got hurt… except for a car a couple cars behind me that got rear-ended. But no people were hurt, and that’s what matters. Maybe car accidents are on my mind since I just finished reading The Great Gatsby in English class 🙂 Stay safe and healthy out there.

Brooke

time passes by too quickly
crossing off each day on the calendar
soon your red pen has slashed through
all 365 boxes, and we start again
one day you’re basking under the golden sun
the next you’re boarded up in your room
draped in blankets as you turn the heat on
as if you haven’t seen the real sun in years
thoughts of summer are slipping away
the same sensation as a tickle in your nose
but you’re pale as a ghost
and just as soon, the new comforter you 
bought for extra warmth that winter
is tearing at the seams; you’re overheating
under it anyways, the summer heat returned
you used to sit down and write about these
moments, the little things in life
everyday…
			until you ran out of time.
always chasing the clock
they say, “we all have the same amount of hours
in a day, it’s what you do with them”
but does it really matter what we do
when the clock is always ticking?
because no matter how much time you have
you’re never going to do that thing
that you wished to have more time for
it’s always been your choice: 
			frantically race against the clock
			or follow your heart and
			let yourself
					run 
						out of	
							time.

I hope you enjoyed this piece! Funnily enough, I wrote this before COVID-19 even hit… it only rings more true now. Time is short and extremely valuable, so I hope you all are making the best of your situations and hopefully doing well… how is it already spring? Please feel free to leave feedback and writing challenges in the comments. Stay safe and healthy out there.

Brooke

We write because we need to
Our unique voices yearn for validation
For words on the page that scream our stories
It may feel as if we don't belong
But we're here for an important reason
This world needs us as much as anyone else
Our unique backgrounds, our vivid imaginations
Allow us to hone our personal craft
Leaving a wash of color on a world
That normally comes in shades of black and white
We write because we want to share pieces of ourselves
Serving our hearts on platters and hoping
That someone relates or understands
If no one does, if we're truly alone, 
That might be even better
Because now our thoughts are out there
Waiting for the next person to stumble upon them
To find everything they've ever thought in solitude
In the written word, speaking directly to them
To sift through the pages of a book that builds their world
Creating a safe haven for them to take shelter in
We write for these people
The future readers, the future writers

I hope you enjoyed this piece! It’s actually another older one I dug up– as I’m currently having a little bit of writer’s block, it seemed fitting. This was the exact poem I needed to write at the time, and it’s the exact poem I needed to read at the moment. Even if it’s a bit cheesy, maybe it can cheer some of you up. Please feel free to leave feedback and writing challenges in the comments. Stay safe and healthy out there.

Brooke

why does the sun shine
in a way that sometimes
creates iridescent ripples
across the shallow blue waters
of my slightly dirty swimming pool?

why does the sun shine
in a way that sometimes
beams directly into our eyes
blocking our vision
from anything else in the world?

why does the sun shine 
in a way that sometimes
illuminates the best in things
or the worst in things
rather than letting us see the full picture?

it would be interesting to see the world
from outside of the sun's shadows
but without the sun, our world couldn't exist
do you believe what you see?

whether you're staring into the sunlight
or glaring at a pitch-black sky
it's important to remember
that the shadows may be cast by the sun,
but they're a reflection of us
and you can still see shadows in the dark

I hope you enjoyed this piece! I actually wrote it over a year ago, so this is a bit of a flashback. It’s interesting to look back on old poems and see how much my writing has changed– it’s also just proof of how much I’ve changed. Look back on your old work– you might be surprised what you find. Please feel free to leave feedback and writing challenges in the comments. Stay safe and healthy out there.

Brooke

Driving too fast,
it is easy to miss the signs.
Days are crossed off
on the calendar, and we 
keep waiting for signs--
to hear something,
see something.
Are we not looking
hard enough, listening
carefully enough
as it is? It's easy to read
into things, and just as easy
to ignore them altogether.
Wait for the signs you want,
you might be waiting
a while. I'll stay with you, 
keep driving until 
we see something we like.

I hope you enjoyed this piece! It’s funny how often driving shows up in my poems ever since I got my license. Feel free to leave feedback and writing challenges in the comments. Stay safe and healthy out there.

Brooke

We quickly learned what it was like
to truly run out of options, carefully
walking in circles, retracing old steps
as if something-- or someone-- new
would materialize. The sun poured
through our windows but didn't warm
our bodies and no object was left
unturned. All the books reread, papers
refiled, clothes and trinkets reorganized
in different drawers, shows on the Netflix
queue watched; we wait for change.
Still waiting, we realized it all has already
changed-- who thought we would be here,
one year later? We may be living
through history, but each day only comes
into focus as it passes. We may need
many more years to decipher all their
meanings.

I hope you enjoyed this piece! As we enter the month of March (which is so crazy to say), the realization that all of the chaos in our world has been going on for a full year is daunting. I hope you all are doing well, and that much better things are to come. Feel free to leave feedback and writing challenges in the comments, as always. Stay safe and healthy out there.

Brooke

New places, new faces, choices
we've never had await us 
all of a sudden and now
we are at a halt because I
have never been the best
at making a decision. If only
you could tell me what to do
and I would listen; 
I have never trusted anyone
more and yet it is not (ever)
enough. If you knew the right
thing to do, I can only hope
you won't tell me. I just told you
I won't listen. I'll keep you guessing
until we each make our own
turns. If we are lucky, we will see
each other at the end.

I hope you enjoyed this piece! It seems more ominous than it really is… although I guess it is quite a bit ominous in reality as well. As a second-semester junior in high school, senior year and college applications are looming (and not so faraway anymore)! Therefore, lots of tension and angst surrounding me and the rest of the people in my grade as we try to figure our (current) goals out. As always, feel free to leave feedback and writing challenges in the comments. Stay safe and healthy out there.

Brooke

I sit in the garden, admiring the flowers,
sniffing my favorites as I would any day--

there's no shame in going it alone. 
Nature doesn't judge, and with a companion

I might not notice just how crisp the air
is today, mingling on the tip of my tongue

as I sign in contentment. The book in my hand
tells a story of love, another story I cannot

relate to, nothing to compare it with. 
Yes, many say life imitates art, but here

I sit and I read and I'm alone and I'm more
than okay with that.

I hope you enjoyed this piece! Happy Valentine’s Day to you all 🙂 I wrote this to show that if you’re alone today and feeling sad about it, you’re not actually alone, but you should take the time to enjoy yourself. It’s somewhat cliché, but you can definitely be your own valentine. Embrace it– you won’t be alone forever, unless you want to be! Please feel free to leave feedback and writing challenges in the comments. Stay safe and healthy out there.

Brooke