A collection inspired by different terms in poetry. The poems have the title's word definition below the title, with a range of different topics.
Abecedarian
In alphabetical order by the first letter of each line.
A poem about settling back into my life,
Back with new understandings and lessons learned,
Coming into a new way of being.
Death of what you once knew is an unavoidable, beautiful part of life.
Everything you once understood to be permanent, you will soon see is far from it,
For change is everything around us,
Great lovely trees that I admire will all be dead some day.
Help is not wanted it is needed by every one of us,
I wish I understood this sooner,
Just about everybody needs somebody to lean on,
Knowing that everyone has somebody they rely on has been the sun to my spring flowers.
Love is all around us,
Much of our world is filled with darkness, but,
No man is an island.
One could be entirely alone in life, despite this we are all connected,
People are just like that.
Quitting on yourself isn't as easy as it sounds,
Really, genuinely it's human nature to reach for the next better thing,
So when I'm thinking of giving up, I must remind myself that life has much potential for good.
Tomorrow isn't more than an idea,
Understand that all we have is now.
Very many people would be grateful to be in my position,
Wonders I take for granted are becoming shined on by my focus.
Xanthin, bright sunflower days are closer than they seem,
You must remind yourself,
Zealousness is within reach.
Acrostic
A poem where the first letter of each line spells out a word.
Eager to improve, eager to do better by myself and others.
Lover of friends, family, poetry, and art in all forms.
Light hearted yet able to hold a conversation like the sea.
Interested in many things, endless new projects.
Odd, I'll admit, but warm like a crackling campfire.
Thoughtful and caring for anyone who passes by.
Aubade
A love poem that references the sun.
The way they carry themselves reminds me of a summer day.
A summer day where the sun shines vibrantly on the river,
You can feel the love of the flowers and river water.
A summer day that is bright yet rainy,
I sit inside with my favorite people listening to music and painting.
What a summer day they are.
Carpe Diem
Seize the day.
I remember the first time I watched dead poets society,
It left me feeling inspired yet sad,
Inspired for how things started and sad for how they ended.
Since then I've seen the movie many times,
So many times that the words have been tattooed to my skin.
I remember neils smile and todd's growth,
But not only has the movie grown on me as I've grown with it.
Since then I've had many fun, or meaningful experiences,
I've written hundreds of poems,
Reminding myself to seize the day has been the best influence I've gotten from a movie so far.
Didactic
An instructional poem.
Although I'm not one to tell someone how to make art or write poetry there are some things I wished I knew sooner.
Write down all and any ideas that come through your mind,
Small ones, large ones, things you'll never write.
Keep that list somewhere, anywhere you'll be able to look back on,
Because you never know when inspiration will strike.
Write what makes you happy, not what you think people want to see,
Write things that fill you up with passion and excitement,
Whatever that may be.
Write as much as you can,
Write in the car or on the bus,
Write in the morning and at night,
Write in nature and cafes,
Write in the moments in between,
Show your poems to people you trust,
To people who will encourage and support you,
It's important to know that it's okay to write bad poems,
It's okay to write something dramatic,
Something shallow,
Something boring,
Something you didn't like or try on,
Something out right bad.
Most importantly,
Write passionately, you will regret what you didn't write rather than what you didn't.
Epigraph
A writing where a line from another work is used. (This poem uses lines from the song Mary by Alex G.)
A poem about a girl named mary,
A unique individual to remark things lightly.
She stops by my house, sometimes for months at a time, other times she doesn't return my calls for weeks.
She loves to come by unexpectedly, sometimes her presence is helpful, she makes the barrier between me and the external large enough to make things easier,
But I miss the connection at times,
Sometimes it seems like it's me and her alone in an empty subway, even when I'm in the bustling city.
Our conversations draw me away from reality, but sometimes I miss the real world.
I enjoy her company most days, she is a needed companion,
But sometimes our shared space becomes draining,
In her attempts to help she drains me of feeling whole.
She says I am real, you are not.
Epistle
A poem used as a letter to someone the writer knows.
A letter to my parents,
I know at this point these words aren't as meaningful as they once were,
You can only apologize for something so many times before what leaves your mouth begins to sing a hollow tune.
I see that, even if when you turn back to see me with my eyes closed, I promise they are open when you are gone.
I understand this isn't a play that will be enjoyed briefly then forgotten about, this is something more than that.
But this letter isn't to say sorry, the words that leave my mouth will never be as valuable as the actions I take when nobody is looking, this letter is a step to a living amends.
Lament
A poem used to express intense sadness and grief.
I think part of being trangender is the grief of what could have been.
I try not to focus on what will never happen, but there is a part of me that is deeply sad about what I missed out on.
I will be able to never look back on my boyhood, I will have always spent my earliest years as a little girl.
I don't have many happy memories from my last year of elementary school, I lived behind closed doors and in dark closets. I was scared of what the rest of my life looked like and confused on how to move forward with my new understanding.
When reliving middle school I am reminded of how wrong I felt, regardless of how amazing things were there was always inner turmoil, I remember thinking I was never really okay, I knew I was playing a part but I was too scared to admit it.
My step out of the dark closet was a beautiful one, but it wasn't my choice,
I wasn't ready to tell the people I was closest to but I was made to feel like regardless of what I wanted it was my only choice.
But, I acknowledge that I am lucky to be in my position, I am beyond blessed to be in my shoes.
My parents may have said somethings they didn't realize would hurt, but they didn't force me out of my house.
I'm able to transition and not count down the days until eighteen.
And not only that but I made it through, I didn't end up a memory in the process,
There's so many days to fill with authentic memories,
So yes, I did miss out on many experiences I'll never get to have, but there are so many more I will.
YOU ARE READING
Letters from sixteen
PoetryA poetry book I wrote during periods of my life with many different facets. I wrote about happy moments, addiction, and trauma, the book becomes more depressing as it goes on. I choose the title "letters from sixteen" to capture how I wanted to capt...
