an ode to shitty notes app poetry
Iāve always been cursed to find the poetry in everything.
When Iām proud, when Iām upset, when Iām everything in between,
Words just flow out of me.
They flow out of me when Iām drenched in sweat, driving down windy roads and screaming Midwest emo songs.
I stare at the moving shadows because my hand is too shaky to turn on my bright lights.
Iāve been forced to shove this poetry behind me
Because I only write about one damn thing,
And itās over now. I always think itās over,Ā
But then it hits me in an email
At my friendās sixteenth birthday party.
I catch a glimpse of it, but I canāt open it.
The blue circle keeps spinning
And I wait and wait and wait and wait,
And I donāt want it to load.
I donāt want to know how Iāve failed.
Even though Iāve had so many successes,
This failure is the only damn thing that I care about.
Because it sends a message.
I poured my heart and soul into the one thing I thought defined me.
She wasnāt chained like I was.
And I have to stay right where I am.
My words will forever be marred by her shadow. Sheāll always be a part of them.Ā
I have no right to be proud of my work when it all stems from her.Ā
I thought I was untouchable.Ā
Because writing is all I do,
And itās all her fault,
And this is my whole identity now.
I try to remind myself Iām human,
And Iām so much more than this
As the headlights race past me.
She has the freedom to write whatever she wants.Ā
She isnāt stuck in the dungeons of an island prince, begging for freedom.
Everyone has the upper hand against me.
I blankly stare at the railroad tracks ahead. They remind me of someone.
I hope heās proud of me.
āSelf-preservation is the best form of resistanceā only rings true
When your mind isnāt built to self destruct.
The world I built to protect myself collapsed just a few days ago.
Or maybe hours? I canāt tell.
I sat idle as my chains were slipped off my wrist
I was free, but freedom was the last thing I wanted.
They were my chains. My very own chains.
I decorated them with sparkly moon shapes and flowers and gold,
And I fell in love with them.
I didnāt get to say goodbye.Ā
I watched as the neon lights all flickered out when I looked away for a split second.
I had a bustling world of love and hope in those chains. They held me back, but I would be lost if I was free.
Itās just me and the empty black void where words used to spill.Ā
Maybe one day Iāll find the courage to return to that godforsaken city again without the chains.
I hope itās someday soon.Ā
I hope Iām never confined to shitty notes app poetry again.Ā
For now, Iāll hang their family portrait next to all the others.Ā
Iāll admire them from afar, their glittering dark eyes a reminder of all that I am now free from- a reminder of how far Iāve come.
Itās a reminder that Iām a human being entirely detached from the bloody blue handprints she left on my bathroom floor.Ā
The lights in my neighborās garden flicker off.
I have better things ahead, I remind myself. Farewell, Dalseum. I hope the moon will always treat you well.