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Young Writers Society


search for the pieces and duct tape the galaxy back together



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Mon Mar 19, 2018 5:55 pm
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Evander says...





Goals for duct tape the galaxy:
1. Actually write 30 poems
2. Improve from where I was last year

I don't think I'll be following a specific theme this year, although I do think that I'll write a bunch about space/trans stuff/education, lol. This will be an exercise in following where my muse takes me. Hopefully it'll drive me by the store so I can pick up some coffee.

Comments and criticism are welcome!

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Sun Apr 01, 2018 4:47 pm
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Evander says...



Day #1
Poem #1
Title: Rope 759

Spoiler! :
recovery isn't linear,
so cut out the knot inside my chest
and hand me another rope.

sit with me as i open my ribcage
(ignore the slowing of my heart).
exposure is trust, exposure is truth;
i'm sorry for the static in my soul.

tie the rope and ignore the notches
engraved into my bones by repetition.
if it knots, it's not your fault.

swing the doors to my rib shut
and please
stay with me while i cry
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Mon Apr 02, 2018 4:29 pm
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Evander says...



Day #2
Poem #2
Title: this foundation is sturdy

Spoiler! :
a dilapidated farm house in the middle of ohio
with a gray summer storm looming overheard
surrounded by the vast expanse of cornfields.
we're restricted and free in the same breath.

if i give you a bottle cap, then will you hold my hand?
can i keep you around until we count the weeds growing?

i'll sit with you on the creaking porch swing
(ignore the rusty chains and the damp wood)
and i'll braid your hair as i once did mine.
because the past doesn't dictate the future,
nor does it erase how much you mean to me.

the foundation is strong, despite your misgivings;
although the floor plans were lost on the path here,
i wouldn't have taken another route for anything.
but i wish i could give you peace of mind,
but i'll offer up my company and my time.

we can press our heads against the floorboards,
and hear our history through the wood.

and through this summer storm, i promise i'll be there.
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Tue Apr 03, 2018 5:06 am
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Evander says...



Day #2
Poem #3
Title: haiku, maybe? probably not

Spoiler! :
simulated life
surrounded by vast gray skies
existence loading
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Tue Apr 03, 2018 12:20 pm
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Virgil says...



I love the first and second poems here. The raw emotion in the first works well and the theme of recovery not being linear is strong while in the second the imagery is vivid and the wording is impactful. Great job on both! <3

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Tue Apr 03, 2018 9:35 pm
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Evander says...



Awh, thank you, @Kays! That really means a bunch to me.
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Tue Apr 03, 2018 9:36 pm
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Evander says...



Day #3
Poem #4
Title: processing plant

Spoiler! :
i wonder if you could pick out
the raw cotton in my brain
with silver tweezers on a Sunday night,
and together we could process the
baggage that i carry with me
and scour through the memories.

if we lay down on this water bed,
(despite it having gone cold,
our backs aching)
maybe i could open up my skull
reveal the obstructions inside.
static mixed together with a fiberous
blockade of thoughts and scenes.

i'm sorry for this heaviness, and
forgive me for the intrusive material.
since i'm a mess comprised of self-
inflicted trauma.
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Tue Apr 03, 2018 10:06 pm
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Evander says...



Day #3
Poem #5
Title: precious metals melt in july

Spoiler! :
i cut my silver teeth on expectations of greatness,
falling back from golden stars with the small of my back
hitting the highest cliff with rocks crumbling below.
the copper blood that fills my mouth is no match for
the ground that gives way beneath me, sending me
to the depths of gray despair in the sticky July heat.

shine all you want, darlin'.
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Wed Apr 04, 2018 7:14 pm
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Evander says...



Day #4
Poem #6
Tile: it's just a roll of the dice

Spoiler! :
my mother brought me candied dice on the 75th day of june
when the sweltering ohio heat beat down on my back and i sobbed.
the zinc and plastic polymer crunched in my broken jaw
as i looked up at her smiling face, wondering if i was right this time.

i was conceived on a 1
was born on a 10
and surviving to toddlerhood required multiple 20s

my father used to hand me dice the size of my toddler fists,
and they never rolled quite right after that. 2s, 4s, 5s, and 8s.

my parents were never great at perception checks, but it was enough
to keep me from dying. trauma aside, the metal dice in my hands weigh
down on my conscious like lies and guilt.

like candy, i plop them in my mouth one by one
until i land a 0
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Thu Apr 05, 2018 7:27 am
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Evander says...



Day #5
Poem #7
Title: Candied Lands

Spoiler! :
i floated on cotton candy clouds back in '09,
back when my mind was quiet and cavities were a dream;
because the pastel sugar hugging to my skin was a sign of
good things to come, instead of a sticky foreshadowing.

my fall back down to earth wasn't a gracious one, but necessary;
i brushed brown sugar off my sundress and faced the world with a resolve
only a princess would have, head up and shoulders back with a
smile that could melt caramel hearts, change minds, and kill.

my kingdom knows no difference between prince and princess,
just functionless and functional, and how i stare at the clouds at night;
for the chocolate underneath my feet will give way if i stand too long,
swallowing me whole into its sugary cocoon, to remind me of days past.
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Thu Apr 05, 2018 8:12 am
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Evander says...



Day #5
Poem #8
Title: this wasn't supposed to be a eulogy

Spoiler! :
you lived and died on these docks,
but i was never one for eulogies.
i wanted to kiss your salt-encrusted lips,
but the coroner took you away before
i had the chance to tell you 'i'm sorry'.

the crashing hurricane wasn't my fault,
but i had predicted the storm and tugged
at your hand before you left that morning;
maybe if i had run my fingers through that
windswept hair then you would be by my side.

my mother told me not to romance a sailor,
but i fell into your warm embrace and dined
with you by the seaside at midnight on thursdays.
we drank red wine and you kissed my forehead,
promising to be my hero through the storm.

but my sailor boy isn't coming home.
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Fri Apr 06, 2018 5:20 am
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Evander says...



Day #5
Poem #9
title: i went to CPR class and then this crap appeared

Spoiler! :

this metronome isn't enough to save a planet of 7.4 billion people.
its steady rhythm barely supporting my aching palms as i crash down
on her chest, waiting for life to return to her lungs on her own accord.
and another one bites the dust as i ignore 15 other bodies littered
on the floor of this galactic cafe on a saturday afternoon in chicago.
my trained capabilities rely on EMTs not responding to my cracked cries,
as i crack her ribs beneath my 120lbs of desperate force and fear.

the angel of death has never been my friend, but i never thought
she'd meet me here in the midst of all this chaos with her scythe drawn.
we were going to meet up at the crossroads once i sold my soul,
but she steals from 15 others and leaves me to deal with the chaos.
i come for all and no one, she whispers in my ears as the cycle
continues in my brain with the 5th rotation ending and i'm left with
no one to help. my body gives out beneath me--

mercy, i sob. take me instead, i scream to the abyss facing me.
for a deal with death is as breakable as my ribs.
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Fri Apr 06, 2018 1:57 pm
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TheBlueCat says...



<3 All your poetry is so great! Your imagery is amazing too c:
Unofficial Blue Cat of YWS =^-^=
she/her please <3
  





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Fri Apr 06, 2018 5:36 pm
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Evander says...



@TheBlueCat Thank you so much!!! Seriously, reading that made my day.
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Fri Apr 06, 2018 6:11 pm
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Evander says...



Day #6
Poem #10
Title: a bit too far away from safety
Spoiler! :

tiny lemon dinos decorate the walls of the doctor's clinic,
covering up the stark white cleanliness of medicine and
humanizing (childizing) care being given within the limits.

i'm a tad too old for disney stickers but still too young to die,
so i sit on the exam table trying to ignore the plastic chest
full of toys and lollipops that were once comforts years ago.

my pediatrician has only known me in this awkward teenage body;
once to get to know me, twice to get me counseling, thrice to draw
my blood from my veins and send it off to distant labs for testing.

i miss the scenes that decorated the walls as i sit in my beige bedroom,
waiting for my father to deliver the news of a growth inside my head;
maybe the medication isn't working, but i take white pills twice a week.

there isn't quite an ending for this yet, with my pediatrician eight hours away;
the coordinating doctor has known me once, to explain what "benign tumors" are
and how i'm lucky to not need operation (yet). so this tale is put on hold.

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You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better.
— Anne Lamott