Poetry

I think form poetry is fascinating. This is my attempt at a pantoum. I actually wrote the first draft of it a long while ago, was okay with it enough and shelved it. Later, I had a particularly intense long distance relationship and I felt inspired to revisit it. This is what I ended up with.

I wrote this poem sometime around 2010, and it has remained in state of near-constant revision since then. I submitted it to a competition at writer's festival, and it won first place for the adult's poetry division. I think it's some of my best writing, so I wanted to share.

I actually wrote this in 2023, somewhere in November and December, as part of a song—the first one I have managed to write and produce to relative completion! While I'm really proud of the lyrics, I'm less proud of the music in its current state (I have very specific need of a group of children to sing two parts of the song). Otherwise, I think it's solid. Either way, until further notice, the lyrics stand alone.

I wrote this a long time ago—I don't even remember when—but I liked the way the words felt in my mouth as I said them. I've included it on this site in an effort to achieve some level of completeness.

I wrote this originally back in 2009. I took an intro to creative writing class and got my feelings hurt pretty badly about my writing, but overall, I think it helped me improve. This poem reflects when I started focusing more on imagery than content. I was also reading a lot of ee cummings at the time.

I... don't even know what this person's profile was about. I think... balloons... somehow? Or the Indian Ocean was mentioned? The Indian Ocean is awfully specific, so it probably involved that—yeah, we'll go with that.

I don't remember this person either, but I remember their profile mentioning Christmas lights. It must have been cuffing season because I was thinking how cool would it be to go see the amazing Christmas lights with this person in a wealthy pocket of Dallas, where all the houses compete to have the most incredible, hilariously over-the-top Christmas lights out of the whole neighborhood.

This person must have had something on their profile about liking coffee. I don't remember the particulars, but I penned this to them as a poem inspired by their profile.

I wrote this for an ex. I actually had known her from years prior. We were both polyamorous (I've since broken contact with her, and last I heard she wanted to be monogamous with an old flame of hers), and I had accidentally stumbled upon her online dating profile while browsing. I wrote this based on various details on her profile as a sort of gift.

I wasn't entirely sure whom I wrote this poem for until I saw the name (which I may or may not have changed), at which point I was like: "Oh wow! I'm still friends with this person!" Well, Internet-friends at least, which still sort of counts. I think she's truly a sweetheart.

I went through a phase where some of the poems I wrote were like the bred style poems (please, Google it if you're not sure what they are—they're hilarious). Anyway, I actually met this person for dinner later and we became good friends for a time. Never really dated, but it was nice.

Oh wow, okay—so there was this guy who messaged me on one of the dating sites a long while ago who had in his profile that he was married, and then later, same profile, "jk lol". I wrote this first poem (I actually wrote him two!) because I was feeling snarky.

So I wrote one poem that was a bit snarky, and I wanted to backtrack. The person whom I wrote the snarky poem also had on his profile that he likes coding and is an amateur pilot. He also must have mentioned that he spoke Portuguese. So uh... yeah. There's that.

To be honest, I have absolutely zero clue what about the person inspired this poem. It might not have had anything to do with online dating, but it's in my Google Drive in that doc, so I guess it was?? Anyway, here's an odd one. I am clearly a romantic /s

This poem may have been about someone spiritual or religious who was a student. I'm not sure—it was a long time ago, so I don't recall.

I don't remember who this was specifically, but I remember seeing an ethically non-monogamous woman (I think polyamorous) who was seeking a relationship. She mentioned she liked wine and the beach and traveling.

I don't really recall whom I wrote this for or what was on their profile at all. Reading back on it, I'm not the biggest fan of it, but I guess I had fun at the time.

I had tried to write villanelles multiple times, and they are absolutely tricky. This is the time I finally succeeded. It's not my favorite piece, but I think it's okay and I'm willing to share.

A combination of a crown and garland cinquain, experimenting with some line-reprisals. Enjoy!

A poem I wrote set to music I wrote. I've provided both video and transcript. The poem is a story, somewhere between a fable and a riddle.