four walls makes a house, but it doesn't make a home
and there's more walls between us than there are in
this house that's not a home
hearing the birds chirp and peck at our windows,
looking out to see dreamy blue skies with white puffy clouds-
reminders of how much prettier the world is
on the outside.
there's always crumbs on the floor. every door is
tightly shut, not unlike us. i used to want things to get
better; to laugh, to play, to load up the car and go
be a family
now all i wish for is semi-peaceful co-existence
because even though i reside within the same four walls
as you, you've put up another four
i'm not interested in tearing down your fortress
I hope you enjoyed this poem! Feel free to leave feedback or requests for certain topics to write about in the comments below 🙂
Brooke
poetry
My Poetry Writing Process
Hello everyone!
Today I will be sharing how I write my poems and basically my whole writing process. I will admit it’s nothing special or anything that can’t easily be replicated- it’s mainly based on how I’m feeling or what I’m inspired to write about. That being said, I’ve seen and heard other writers talk about what works for them and what their writing processes are, so I figured I would share. Keep on reading if you want to know what I do when I’m ready to write a poem!
Obviously I don’t go through the same process every time I write something. Occasionally, ideas will pop into my head and I’ll quickly jot them down in my phone’s Notes, but this is for when I’m churning out a lot of writing in one sitting, or I’m feeling particularly inspired. I decided it would be best to outline it step-by-step, so here are the main points I wanted to hit.
- Gather my materials. I’m not super picky about what pen I’m writing with, but I do have one spiral notebook that I tend to write all my handwritten poetry in/lists of inspiration for my writing. I sometimes type rather than writing since I can get my thoughts out quicker, so if I already have an idea of what I want to write about or I’m planning to write a poem about a specific experience/topic for my blog, I’ll just start typing my poem in a Word document. However, if I’m just feeling like writing or using poetry to cope with a stressful, emotional day, I’ll usually choose to write it in the aforementioned spiral and determine whether or not I’ll share it somewhere later on.
- Find the right environment/position. Again, this varies on what I’m feeling/what level of inspiration I’m at/what purpose I have in writing at the time, but I have three main places I write. If I’m just writing for fun and myself, I’ll usually spread out on my bedroom floor. If I’m trying to write something for this blog or a different purpose that’s more structured but I’m not quite sure what I want to write about yet, I’ll go and sit outside in my backyard for a while to think while I write and draw inspiration from nature. If I’m writing for a structured purpose and already have an idea of what to write about, I usually sit at my desk and write there.
- Start writing and get my thoughts out. I don’t edit myself while writing or stop to think about what words are actually going on the page. I just try to express my ideas before I lose my train of thought, and I stop when that train of thought comes to an end. I think it’s important to remember that you can always edit later, but you can’t always retrieve a lost thought from your memory.
- Title the poem. This is a personal preference, but I like to title my poems right after I finish them, unless I really can’t think of a title and feel it fits better to leave the piece without one. I’m not sure how other people come up with titles, but for me they’ll usually just pop in my brain as I reread the poem I’ve just written, or I’ll pull from the general subject matter of the poem. It helps to ask yourself, what do I want people to think this poem is about?
- Self-edit and/or restructure the poem. Honestly, a lot of times I don’t edit my poems until long after I’ve written them, if I’m planning to submit them for publication or something. I do a light edit on the poems I post here before I schedule the post to go up just to make sure I didn’t make any mistakes, but I don’t really polish my work too much unless I’m sending it in somewhere. However, sometimes I will restructure my stanzas/lines if I think the structure of the poem looks a bit odd or uneven/lopsided in an unintentional way. It’s all about personal preference, so I just eyeball it.
- Save it/type it/decide what to do with it. Like I said, I write all the time, often with different purposes in mind. There are a lot of poems I’ve just written to get myself through hard times and express my emotions; I prefer doing so through poetry rather than journaling or something similar. A lot of the poems I write myself are quite short, random, and frankly, I don’t think anyone would be interested in reading them or publishing them. However, for poems that I share on my blog, I usually know that a poem will go on here as I write it. Any other poems that I don’t share on here and that I think are good enough to make their way out into the world, I research a good place to submit them for possible publication in contests or teen publications. I really haven’t submitted many of my poems anywhere (besides my huge writing sample for summer program applications) so as you would guess, I haven’t had much success with getting published. I had my first poem published this fall in the Just Poetry National High School Poetry contest fall anthology, which was an awesome honor.
I hope this was interesting or somehow helpful; I’m not sure how unique or necessary my specific writing process is, but it is what it is! Feel free to share any essential steps in your writing processes in the comments- I would love to hear about them 🙂
Brooke
Quarantine – Poem by Me
all the doors are shut (the windows too) and i've never seen this town so empty last week i forgot to buy milk, and this week i can't the grocery store became a barren wasteland people aren't even bothering with tight-lipped smiles stay six feet away, my mother reminds me a walk in the park to escape my house only makes me feel more trapped. it's too quiet i return home, back under a roof and between four walls only to wish i was outside again but the sun shines down, and i can feel its warmth through the glass windowpanes the palm fronds sway peacefully across the street i want to join them in their lazy rhythm in this loneliness, there is beauty
I hope you enjoyed this poem and are staying healthy and safe during these crazy times. I tried to bring a positive spin on the current situation in this poem, but I am still aware of the amount of tragedy and sickness people are experiencing right now. I wish you all the best.
Brooke
Rejection – Poem by Me
Hello everyone!
Today I have another poem to share with you all. I’m not sure if these unnecessary introductions are necessary at this point; this will probably be the last time that I’ll have this type of lead-in to my writing if it’s already clear from the post title what I’m sharing with you. Hope you enjoy 🙂
if rejection is one thing, it's versatile with the press of a button, a few uncomfortable words a shake of the head, a glaring mark in red pen but it doesn't even hurt then it creeps into your head, revealing itself in the form of tears running down your pillowcase nail-biting and head-scratching just wondering how, and wondering why rejection is a double-edged sword you already know the how, and you want to know the why so you'll do better, be better next time but once someone tells you why, that's when it hurts.
Hope you enjoyed as always! Rejection is a natural part of life and everyone experiences it from time to time, so try not to let it get you down. I’ve been second-guessing myself a lot lately and feeling rejected in various ways, but it helps to write about it and get the feelings out. Also, I hope you all continue to stay safe and healthy in these tough times.
Brooke
June Gloom in March – Poem by Me
Welcome back everyone!
I have another poem to share with you all today. If you’re new to my blog, you might not know that I live in southern California. We usually get some drizzle and gloomy days in spring, but the past week has actually been abnormally rainy; it was even rainier than our typical winter week this year. I’m usually a fan of the rain and cold weather, but it was off-putting when coupled with the school closure and coronavirus news. In light of everything that’s happening and the recent odd weather, the idea for this poem popped into my head. I hope you enjoy, as always.
the clouds are rolling in, as perfectly round and puffy as marshmallows but as dark as an unfamiliar room at midnight night strangles day too early, especially for this time of year i light a candle and watch the first drop of wax melt but the minuscule flame has already blown out- ominous, isn't it? i've come to pray for actual darkness, not this false sense of security from yellow-tinged lightbulbs and mere seconds of candlelight. if i'm going to sulk in the dark, leave me to it.
I hope you all are staying safe and healthy. What’s the weather like where you live? By the time this post goes up, it’s most likely back to blue skies and sunshine here, which only makes it harder not to go outside. Please feel free to leave a comment with some feedback or challenges for future writing as well- I’m definitely trying to channel my energy into writing while spending so much time at home 🙂
Brooke
Amidst the Chaos – Poem by Me
Welcome back everyone!
I have another poem to share with you all today. The best way I can describe it is it being my personal take on how crazy life has been lately, especially with the escalation of COVID-19 spreading and creating well, chaos. I’m sure a lot of us have felt life is more chaotic than usual at the moment, so maybe you’ll relate to this poem. I hope you enjoy, as always 🙂
it's a little odd to see my room spinning like this my sea-foam green walls appear to melt, as if they represent my insides. i've felt this way before, but never in my own home. it's scary when the place you've always gone to calm down isn't safe anymore. it's scarier when there's no particular reason that it's not "safe" and it just isn't. nowhere is. i press my tongue to the roof of my mouth; i squeeze the little fold of skin between my index finger and my thumb, hoping to relieve the pressure that i feel inside. the bleak, white light streams in. everything is still. just as the chaos began, it left. luckily, it didn't take me with it.
I hope you enjoyed this poem, and I would love to hear some feedback from you guys. I’m always down to have a conversation with some fellow writers! And of course, I hope you all are staying healthy and safe out there. Please make sure to take care of yourselves.
Brooke
Away from Here – Poem by Me
Welcome back everyone!
I’m hoping I figured out how to format my poems so the lines are split as I intended them on here, so bear with me as I switch back to the “normal” formatting. Per usual, I have another poem to share with you all! The topic for this one kind of came to me out of nowhere; it was one of those poems where I just felt like writing and the words started to write themselves. I sincerely hope you enjoy.
growing up where the grass is greener only makes the rest of the world feel grey. it's easy to get used to smelling the roses, but it's hard to leave. except maybe it's not. because i don't like this type of perfection and i'm dying to get out of here but it's hard because everyone looks at you like you're crazy when you want to leave such a beautiful place but all this place has taught me is to see the ugly because no matter how amazing my home is supposed to be, i can't let myself like it. that would be acceptance, and i refuse to accept a life here. i'm going to go far, far away. it's not an if, it's a when, how, and where
I believe the formatting worked out since I used the “verse” option- how perfect for poetry! If not, I’ll be trying something else out next time I post a poem. I would appreciate it so much if you wouldn’t mind leaving me a comment to give me some feedback on this poem, or thinking of a writing challenge for me to use in a future post! Thank you in advance 🙂
Brooke
Eyes on You – Poem by Me
Hello everyone!
I have another poem to share with you all today. After I realized the formatting issues my previous poems had been having on here, I decided to try something new. I took a screenshot of a Word document with my poem on it, so I apologize if it’s weird to read the poem as if it’s a picture that you’re looking at. I’m trying to figure out what the best way is to share my poetry on here, so I’ll be experimenting with posting solutions for the next few poems I share. Thank you all for understanding!
I apologize for the awkward formatting again, and I hope you enjoy this poem. The idea of it came to me when I was in class- yes, when my chair squeaked as I moved around. I’m a squirmy person, and it’s something I’ve only realized in the quiet, working hours of school 🙂
Brooke
Clarification About My Poetry
Hello everyone!
This is sort of an apology, sort of a question, sort of just me acknowledging something I didn’t realize before. If you’ve been reading my blog for a little while, you’d know I’ve been posting a lot of poetry and creative writing lately. If you’ve been thinking my poems seemed oddly formatted, you’re probably not alone, and this was something I just became aware of.
Earlier today I was looking at my blog page as if I was a viewer, and I realized that my poems have been posting weirdly/in a different format than I intended. I guess it’s because the width of the paragraphs and text is different once published than it is in the WordPress block editor, but it definitely made the structure of my poems look different and divided the lines at weird spots.
If any of you guys know how to fix this or have any suggestions on how to fix it, please let me know. I’m considering just typing my poems into Word docs and then screenshotting it and posting it as an image into my post. I’m not sure if that would be a good solution or not, but I’ll figure it out before my next poetry post. I apologize for this oversight in the past, and now I’m even more thankful for the support I’ve received from my creative writing posts so far considering the formatting of my poems was off. Thank you all for being so supportive and kind as always!
Also, I would just like to say that I would LOVE your guys’ feedback on my writing. If you’ve been wanting to leave a comment or give me some suggestions on future topics to incorporate into my poetry, please let me know! I am always looking for suggestions from others and I also want to interact with the people reading my work. I’d also like to know if you guys actually liked the way my poetry has been formatted thus far- I haven’t really purposefully experimented with different formats for poems, but now it’s something I might look into.
Thank you all as always! Please let me know your thoughts on the issues I’ve brought up here, as it would be much appreciated 🙂
Brooke
My Plate – Poem by Me
Hello everyone!
I have another poem to share with you. I was originally going to do a post pondering the question “do we rise to the occasion when we have busier schedules?” but I didn’t really know how to answer that, considering that for me it honestly depends on what that “busier schedule” looks like and the mental headspace I’m in. I can still do that post in the future if anyone’s interested and I figure out how to approach it, but for now I figured I would tackle it as I tackle most things, by writing a poem.
My Plate
i divide my plate into sections, just like how mama taught me when i was young, how i needed to eat the rainbow and have a little bit of everything for each meal. she told me i needed to incorporate all the food groups, and to eat everything i was served. it would be rude not to.
i give slivers of myself away, not even realizing until i’m left with one tiny portion of the plate still filled. i twirl my fork and mash up the remainders of all the food that was once there. it’s not really a rainbow- it’s a brown pile of mush, and the texture is questionable.
no amount is too much for me. i load up on everything imaginable, everything available, whether i like it or not. it doesn’t really matter though, because i’ll give it away as soon as someone asks, only regretting it because of the sound my knife makes as i scrape it away.
all my utensils are still lined up perfectly on the table. sure, there’s a little brown mush on them, but who cares? certainly not me, as there’s no food left on my plate. they’re no use to me anyway.
I hope you enjoyed this poem. Thank you for all the support in my writing endeavors 🙂
Brooke
adventures of a typical high school student 