By: Alexis Crum
Have you ever written something you’re proud of and want to be recognized? Luckily for you, poems don’t always have to rhyme. Many students seem to believe that poems have to have an incredibly distinct rhythm and structure in order to be considered a real poem, but they don’t. Poems are an art form, not words in a box confined to specific rules. A form was sent out to our fellow students to capture a snippet of their artwork. Some students chosen for our showcase would like to remain anonymous. As we venture through vastly different poems, I want you to put yourself into these students’ shoes and take a stroll inside their minds.
This first poem is rather somber and it’s meant to be. Bekah Smythers has presented us with a poem about a bittersweet ending. Her work appears fluid at surface level; however, “Sweet Old Willow” didn’t come to her in one piece. Smythers commented, “I usually make lots of adjustments until it sounds good to me. It has to be organized for me, it can’t be out of place”. “Sweet Old Willow” encourages us to live in the moment. “Things can be taken away easily, so it is best to hold them close while you still have them because you can’t get to them once they’re in the grave,” said Smythers.
While people outside of us might leave, or in extreme cases die, sometimes we ourselves lose who we are during our living days. This next poem proves this idea.
This poem is very similar to the somber touch of the first. Her poem travels through the eyes of the person depression and anxiety has made her and the person she wishes, and/or used, to be. Life can flash before your eyes when you become consumed by your faults.
Additionally, it explores the feeling of how sometimes one might stand in front of a mirror and feel like a stranger in relation to their reflection; it explores the feeling of somebody as they “… look at themselves and see a different version of them and don’t like it. I want the reader to feel sad, and realize that people don’t always like who they are” stated the author.
It is normal to sometimes feel this way, and this poem connects it. However, poetry is meant to speak to us and help us heal, and through this awareness, it can help us challenge these parts of ourselves or heal our relationships in turn. Thank you to all of those who turned in submissions! These poems teach us to live in the moment. “Things can be taken away easily, so it is best to hold them close while you still have them because you can’t get to them once they’re in the grave.”
The Pirate Post 