WHAT DOES POETRY MEAN TO ME?
by BRANDON B.
Poetry is
what helps me co-op with accepting
who I am. Poetry makes me try!
to be someone I don’t know, it makes
me try to understand others and their life.
Poetry to me is more than a form of writing,
it’s a way for me to live.
Yes! Live! it allows me to escape my
hardships of life, bring me to an understanding
of why my father doesn’t love me
or why do people tend to retreat to their secret garden.
But enough about my needs.
Sometimes poetry I write isn’t for me,
it’s for my sister that I love dearly,
the girl that doesn’t know if she’ll decide to take her own life,
to give her the clarity her unbiological brother loves her,
or for the people who don’t know the flip side of a story,
or for a child they will soon say is nothing but a statistic.
Poetry…poetry…it’s poetry.
It’s there you live it everyday. It is life,
it is love, it is loyal to your heartfelt opinions.
So what does poetry mean to me?
That’s a rhetorical question that should be slapped
from every person’s mouth who has to ask.
What is poetry to me?
It’s the parent who sneaks into your room at night
to kiss you goodnight when all is balmy.
What is poetry? The art of rhythmic composition, written or spoken,
for exciting pleasure by beautiful imaginative thoughts…
NOW that’s poetry and it goes hand in hand with
the world’s beautiful people…you.
DRY MY HANDS
by ZURI
Maybe just a little later on
They’d tell me
Maybe if we
Wait
Things will get
Better
Things
Will get better
Yet my hands only seem to get wetter
Maybe
Just
A little later on
Well I’m telling you
Don’t wait
Trust
You
Later
Is no better
Open your mouth
Speak our words
Breathe your heart
Take your air
Maybe just a little later
You tell me
Stories
Never told
Truth never professed
Yet you still feel the need to bury it in
My chest
Why do I have to carry
Your broken smiles and
Stolen cookie lies
The ones we promised lookin’ into mama’s eyes
I don’t have a choice
I hold the burdens you choose to pack in
So think twice
Before you bite your tongue
Before you sin
Before you look in the mirror at me with our
Biting bitter sweet
Lying grin
Can you not
Wait
For
Things
To
Get
Better?
Dry my hands
Instead of waiting
Just
A little
Later
Don’t tell me
To wait
I’ve been waiting
MnM (ME NOW MA)
by DAIZJHA
Ma…I was scared of bees, I was scared of bugs,
I was scared of the belt.
I wore pigtails & dressed like a doll.
I loved butterflies & rainbows
& anything pink–I always tell the truth.
That was seven years ago.
Now I’m sixteen.
I’m not scared of bugs, maybe bees.
I’m not scared of the belt.
I wear bras now.
I dream of boys & cars.
I love black & I love spiders & snakes
& leather.
Ma, I’m not into the color pink.
I’m interested in anime & gore.
I’m into gymnastics & adrenaline.
I lie when I’m scared,
make faces when I’m happy, & when I’m mad
I get serious needed & crazy all the time.
I’m still scared of you I don’t know how to
please you & get you to laugh or smile.
A WHILE
by WENDY
The sun was bright. I was home. It was a typical day until I saw that bag filled with your clothes. I was confused. I didn’t know what to think or what to say. Until those words came out my mouth. Then you responded, “I’m leaving for awhile, but please smile.” I felt my heart fall to my stomach. I had a feeling that a while was more than a mile. So a while past, and a while was seven years.
You acted like nothing had happened, but I couldn’t. I’m sorry that I couldn’t call you Daddy like you would’ve wanted, but it wouldn’t of came from the bottom of my heart, so instead I called you by your name. Once again you left, but the difference is it didn’t hurt this time.
WHERE ARE YOU GOING?
by KRISTEN
Who are you?
Are you the one who always gets told
that you should model,
That you have the face for it,
That you are beautiful enough,
That your body and height is perfect?
But then you have a flashback of
being told you are too skinny…
Then you you realize that you were the girl bullied.
So you are that girl…
You can still hear the hurtful words,
“Hey are you from the Wizard of Oz
weren’t you the scarecrow?”
Or the “you’re a NEW–Man.”
Haha, get it New—MAN because
you have the last name Newman.
And to put the cherry on top,
your mother doesn’t make it better.
You get belittled,
So you use to run to your room at
night and cry because
you thought she never cared.
Or was it because she ridiculed you
for, for EVERY little Thing.
That “you need to dance just like
your big sister.”
That “you need to run track like
your big brother.”
WHO WE ARE
Exclusive Ink is Shortridge High School's dynamic creative writing group. This is the place for our work to glow.WHAT WE DO
We write poems, short stories, essays, and whatever us inspires us. We share our work aloud and support each other.WHY WE WRITE
Because it's freedom. Because it's fun.