92

On By ELLEIn poetry

There’s a carousel of people I know
nestled into my phone feed
that are having kids, buying homes
doing everything right and
looking good doing it

There are nights I stay up late
and imagine all the things I’ve done wrong
and how I could’ve grasped perfection
plucked it off the tree
if I had tried hard enough.

By morning, I’m forgiving myself
heading to the market and seeking
only the best fruit
I’m digging my fingernails into the flesh
making sure the peach is sweet
I’m poking and prodding and
making sure there’s not a single bruise
that I end up creating one anyway.

22 thoughts on “92”

  6. varjakBaby

    I guess this is professional poetry. It’s successful, at the least. I don’t remember asking this question before, but: are you published? I should study your syntax more closely to see how I can improve. I LIKE my style, but there’s more to writing than style.

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    1. Thank you! I’m not published but perhaps in a few years time I would consider it–I’m deeply into my career and I think the self-publishing route would side track me. And definitely reading other people’s work helps improve your own! There’s a saying that we’re all just anthologies of the people we’ve met. Keep on reading and keep on writing!

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  8. varjakBaby

    You know you’re actually quite horrifying. I hope that’s not a personal attack. But as a professional I’m sure you’re used to it. Thank you for continuing to write poetry. It is definitely a good thing with a cause.

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  9. varjakBaby

    I think your inner voice might be a bit too loud, as well–or I could just be reading into it too much. It starts to make sense after a few read-throughs.

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  11. Sometimes when I read your writing I just feel like giving you a hug.
    (‘m not the one to give good advice, but… When you compare yourself to other people, you are filtering it through your own lens, and their truth might not be as rosy as you imagine. Stay on your own path… you are unique and valuable just the way you are)
    And for the record, I can’t leave without a counterpoint to the comment that declared you to be “quite horrifying”. I don’t understand that at all. In my eyes you are open and seeking and willing to share, which is a path of light. The horrifying people are the ones dwelling in darkness, comfortably numb.
    (btw, your fruit example was killer. been there, too)
    You be You, girl!

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    1. Thanks for your comment Jack! Definitely needed that uplift today. You’re way too kind–sometimes when you open yourself up on a platform like this you get both the love and the hate. It’s folks like you that make the days easier 🙂 Thank you for commenting and for the love!

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  12. Savannah

    I loved the analogy of the fruit! You brought it around to show how we in our quest for perfection can be the very ones to cause imperfections (because in my opinion I think the point here is that perfection is an illusion like the images on social media, fruit only looks good on the outside until you start poking around in the fruit and in someone’s life then you realize there is always bruises). I really like the concept though that sometimes we cause these imperfections, it brings it inwards rather than just blaming others for their imperfect desire to be perfect too! Keep Writing 🙂

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    1. absolutely! you got it. we try so hard to make things perfect that in its very essence, should be natural and easy, becomes imperfect. thank you for commenting!

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