gen ed classes...

For the most part, I don't like poems that rhyme, unless they're song lyrics. But for a gen ed creative writing class, our final assignment was to either write a radio play, a short story, or a collection of poems (with a theme). This teacher was all about rainbows and butterflies and team bonding experiences like "trust falls," and my dark side constantly clashed with her sentimentality. Problem for her was, I did my work well and I turned it in on time. I decided to do the poems (10 poems, all with a distinct meter, one being a sonnet) and she tried to steer me towards a topic of Christmas or friendship or candy coated puppies. I decided to write them about a guy who broke me down pretty hard several years ago, but I think it turned out to be the most uplifting thing I wrote all quarter. It may seem like I'm dwelling on the past, but really it's the opposite. I wanted to celebrate how great my life is now, without him.


Synesthesia
As violet night gives way to dawn
Yellow morning glints off the lawn.
As apple-scented rays break through

The clean, fresh sound of morning dew,
I cannot recall what I was dreaming of.
As I press my lips against my love,

His laughter comes off as salty-sweet
Like the caramel songbird’s subtle tweet.
My naïve smile did not know the end was near.

Go green, so trusting for the last dulcet years.
The saccharine innocence that I once felt
Gone away with the deceit he dealt.

As daylight fades into balmy dusk
My icy bed appears uninviting, brusque.
Now I draw my heavy drapes tight,

I shut out all affectionate light.
I quiet the television’s recounting of violence
The world gone black gives a reassuring silence.



haiku
true colors obscured
his clandestine trysts unseen
blindfolded by love



limerick
He ripped me apart, he ate me alive.
He spit me out, no hope to survive.
But at night in my dreams,
Full of lost love’s themes
I search for a way to thrive.



couplets
Don’t waste your time, I won’t care
The two of you are a much better pair

Don’t bother to ask, I won’t play nice
My compassion will do far less than suffice

Don’t submit your request, I won’t be kind
Your comfort is out of sight, out of mind

Don’t hold your breath; I won’t soothe your pain
If you wait, you’ll be waiting in vain



sonnet
The day you ran off, the way you took flight.
It was your method, your careless retreat.
You left me broken, alone, without sight.
For months I felt lacking and incomplete.

Time cleanses the soul, it is the best cure
As the years go by, the pain ebbs away
With you out of my life, my future pure
You have no hold; I’m no longer your prey

You never got me, never understood.
Now I want a partner, a true equal.
Don’t say you’re sorry, no need to make good.
I am ready for part two, the sequel.

I do know now that you were not The One.
I need someone good who gets the job done.