we've made it to our checkpoint
who thought that things would end up like this?

a few months and the world's turned 
topsy-turvy absolutely upside down

a few months with you and my world's
been completely spun around

it seems wrong that this isn't more of an 
accomplishment to have made it this far

maybe it wasn't the right time for us
is the world trying to give us a sign?

or maybe we should've set our expectations lower
and not decided to designate a checkpoint

I hope you enjoyed this poem! It’s a bit more open-ended and all over the place, but I think it’s still clear/easy to interpret the meaning. Everyone’s lives really have been turned upside down at the moment, and it affects everyone differently. Hope you all are staying healthy and safe.

Brooke

it's refreshing to catch up with an old friend
particularly if the friend in question

is a book, eagerly waiting for the pages to be 
turned and crinkled, just as they have

so many times before. if only i could let go 
of these pages as easily as i could let go of people

the words are already ingrained in my mind
but it doesn't matter- every time my eyes

have combed through everything there is to see
between the binding, and i've drawn myself

into a fantasy world yet again, it's time to return
to reality. i can't help but shed a tear

for what i've lost by not being born into a book
and living between the pages forever

I hope you all enjoyed this poem. The subject rings so true for me so I’m glad I was finally able to put it into words; as I’ve been rereading my old favorite books lately (especially the Harry Potter series) I’ve been devastated when I finish them and have to put them away. I’m forever stuck in my childhood, when it seemed possible to stay lost in fantasyland 🙂 Let me know if you have any feedback on this piece or writing challenges for me to try in the future!

Brooke

i dig my nails into my stomach
they leave little red marks

adding to the collection; matching
perfectly with the indents

from the waistband of my sweatpants
i watch my stomach rise and fall

as i take deep breaths; my pale flesh
expanding and contracting is a sight

both fascinating and repulsive
this little extra pouch of fat

of skin without bones, just an extra
pound (or two, or three) of me

is my weakness, so maybe i'm
too soft

I hope you enjoyed this poem. I’ve wanted to write something about my stomach (my biggest insecurity) for a while, and the words spilled out onto the page pretty easily. We all have our own insecurities, so let this be a reminder you’re not alone. Let me know if you have any feedback, suggestions, or challenges for me to use in my writing in the near future 🙂

Brooke

hair loosely tied in pigtails
i ran out the front door into the street

ready to ride my baby blue beach cruiser bike
past the same twenty houses back and forth

ringing the bell, fingers running through the
white streamers on the handlebars dancing in the wind 

murmuring to myself as i sped down the sidewalk
this was my time to be independent and free

not a care in the world; reality wasn't on my radar
and when mom called out for dinnertime

                                                            i was ready to return to the real world

I hope you guys enjoyed this poem. It was fun to write, and it’s actually based off of one of my most vivid memories from when I was younger. I really would go on my blue bike, riding up and down my street but not bothering to stray into any of the other streets in my neighborhood. I felt so free, and that was honestly my favorite pastime after school since I could talk to myself and I felt like no one was listening, but in a good way. Let me know if you have any feedback, suggestions, or challenges for me to use in my future writing posts 🙂

Brooke

if i was a painter 
i would paint you a beautiful
black canvas

vast as the galaxy
and you could add in
your own stars

a blank slate for 
you and i
the opposite of colorful

but with endless opportunity

As always, I hope you enjoyed this poem! It was one of those things where the idea randomly popped in my head (the title came first). I’ve been trying to tap into my artsy side with some drawing, so maybe that’s why the topic was on the brain. That being said, please let me know if you have any feedback, suggestions, or challenges for my writing in the future! Stay safe and healthy 🙂

Brooke

the odor of dried sweat and moldy bread
is emitting from the towel you wrap
around your hair;
         you know, the one you use 
         to dry off and feel clean?

this room's always dirty but
from the doorway you can see
a tiny sketch of a half-drawn face

          staring into your eyes
          from its insignificant place 
          on your desk. 
too perfect with the plump lips and 
sporadic freckles on the stark white paper

i don't know how you spend so much
time in here, but i see that face
and it brings to my attention

mixed with the body odor and mold
it smells like you-
          vanilla candy, so sweet
          making my stomach ache

As always, I hope you enjoyed this poem! I thought it was fun to play around with the structure. Let me know if you have any feedback, suggestions, or challenges for me to use in my writing in the near future 🙂

Brooke

if you want to get to know me, take a look
inside my tattered blue notebook

a hidden treasure in the back of my drawer
i whispered my stories to the pages-

they're dog-eared, words spilling out into 
the margins, pieces of myself perfectly

preserved on the paper almost like i
expected you to come across this

royal blue notebook of mine. if you've 
flipped through these fraying pages
                            you know the real me.

I hope you enjoyed this poem! It honestly isn’t my favorite, but I wanted to share it at some point and I wasn’t sure what else to post this week. Let me know if you have any suggestions, feedback, or challenges for me to incorporate in my writing in the near future 🙂

Brooke

who knew what a talented artist you are
in the art of manipulation

your skill is unparalleled: the masks you
wear, the metamorphosis i've seen you undergo

like that of a caterpillar to a butterfly in that
you showed your true colors

but quite different in that i don't like what i see
i know you don't care, so i won't waste my breath

on lecturing you for your actions
i'll just watch you fly away

I hope you enjoyed this poem! I know most of the work I’ve posted lately is pretty short, so I’m hoping to experiment with different styles and some longer work soon. Let me know if you have any suggestions, feedback, or requests!

Brooke

in this house that's not a home
the air is grey and thick. the fridge

is full but our bellies aren't; they 
crave love and genuine feeling.

voices are raised and the wind 
whistle, zipping through the 

dusty windows to egg us on.
silence settles in, along with our 

disdain for each other
in this house that's not a home.

I hope you enjoyed this poem! It’s kind of inspired by the poem I posted about a week ago called “Four Walls” (go check it out if you haven’t already!) so if it seems familiar or similar to that, that’s why. I feel like with quarantine and spending so much time at home, family issues and tension that’s been fairly buried for a while are bound to rise up. I wish you all the best- stay healthy!

Brooke

i always loved tilt-a-whirl rides
even when the people next to me threw up as they stumbled out 

life is an amusement park 
(have you ever felt more alive anywhere else?) 

but i'm afraid of going on the gleaming steel rollercoasters making loop-di-loops, seemingly defying gravity (actually adhering to it) 

fluffy cotton candy, the rickety benches on the brick roads, watching others have the time of their lives is sometimes more my speed 

but when you go to an amusement park, you've come along for the ride and that means you go on the giant rollercoaster 

This is a sillier poem, but I suddenly had the inspiration to write it and decided to go for it. I normally keep a running list of ideas for poems to write, but I lost that mega-list recently and I’ve been really upset about it, so I’ve been coming up with random, more cheerful writing ideas. I hope you enjoyed it- feel free to leave feedback or writing challenges/topic suggestions in the comments.

Brooke