Young Writers Society

cout << "Goals" << endl;

• write a poem a day
• comment on other people's threads
• try to be intentional about each poem

cout << "Table of Contents" << endl;

• botanical garden

note: C++ is a programming language that i'm currently learning in college! hopefully i'll be able to weave some of its syntax and concepts into my poems =P

10/25/24

botanical garden

there is a joyous freedom
--an opening of the soul,
a delirious closing of the eyes--
to have surmounted an obstacle
(such as a mountain of midterms)
and to now be mounted on a chair
by a bright brook burbling by.

i hear birds and murmured voices.
i hear a tour guide talking about yew.
for a moment, i think only of myself, and not any "you".
and though i sit in a space meant for two,
the empty chair beside me feels patient (aged, not new).

i inhale the fresh air of this place and feel alive.
i think i could live here forever. but then, i know,
i am just one of many passersby in this garden,
here to read a book of poetry,
write some words of my own,
and eventually leave,
as all free things do.

10/26/24

typecasting

typecasting in C++
is like casting a spell
to convert a variable of one type into another.
an integer, for example,
can be cast to a double (a number with a decimal),
opening it up to possibilities
of a fractional world.

---

most days, i appreciate the mold i was cast in.
i don't detect features flawed enough to cast out entirely.
i like to think i'm reliable, like a familiar cast-iron skillet.

but then sometimes, something happens
to cast doubt on this evaluation of myself.
like a light has been cast onto my insecurities,
throwing them into painfully sharp relief.

what if i could typecast myself?
like a broken limb wrapped in a cast,
i could wrap myself in a new form.
cast a glance over the ocean of attributes,
cast a line and go fishing for ones i want,
reel them in, cast a vote, keep the ones that lead
to the best version of myself.

---

i find it funny how typecasting has a meaning
both in programming and in acting, and how
in programming, it means a transformation,
while in acting, it means becoming stuck
in a certain kind of role.

i prefer to think of the meaning with change
(growth mindset and all), but
where is the line between self-improvement
and becoming a new being entirely?

some days i feel like life is a production
and i was never the star of this cast.

10/27/24

stairs and lines

two constants here are stairs and lines.
i climb at least twenty flights a day, and yet right now, i do not feel like flying.
every step i ascend, my self-imposed burden grows heavier (eight classes, three clubs, applying for internships, research, keeping connections with family and friends, excursions that, while fun, sap away even more of my limited time),
until at last, i wonder how it feels to be atlas, laboring thanklessly under the weight of the sky.
(but that is selfish of me, for i know this is the path, the line i have chosen.)

The best most spookiest thread name I have ever seen!!!! College... *shivers*

LOL thanks, Ellie!! XDD

10/28/24

somewhat-late-ish-night ramblings

something i like about code is its constancy. it doesn't mysteriously warp into new forms each time you close your ide. a variable will keep the name you give it until you choose to rename it. if there are no elements of randomness woven in, the same inputs should give the same outputs. yes, there are always exceptions, but on the whole, i find code to be more reliable than people, including me.
sometimes i worry i'll never care about anyone enough to write poems about them. yes, i write poems for people, but never has a single subject come to mind unbidden, bursting with memories and emotions for me to write about. there are no bittersweet goodbyes in fading autumn light, no late-night secrets or conflicts to be weathered together, no sparks flying. unlike code, there is no tab autocomplete for friendships, and every step requires work, and things can change, and promising flickers can fade the moment one gets busy.
sometimes i think this is a choice. sometimes i think i'm letting choices pass me by.
most times, i long for more time.

10/29/24

scopes

we each exist in our own scopes sometimes
like how variables in a function cannot see variables in another function.
i see other students, fellow human beings, sitting alone at tables,
eating while studying or simply staring at their phones.
and sometimes i'm tempted, as a fellow lonesome human being,
to say hello, to sit down, to strike up a conversation.
i have tried that a couple times. it has been productive occasionally.
other times, my attempts fail as the other is drawn into their infinitely more amusing digital world.
and now in midterm season, i feel guilty disturbing others, and so i get out my computer and study as well.
today i called my parents, and they told me a story of how a guy met his wife by sitting down randomly and chatting. they told me to never eat alone.
but stories like that are special because of their rarity.
i fear i wouldn't recognize my future partner even if i literally tripped over them.
i don't know how to move a conversation beyond small talk like, "do you have any midterms left?" or, "what are your favorite places to eat on campus?" or such questions that have been repeated to the point of becoming trite.
and sometimes it is so much easier to sink into my own little world, my own limited scope.

10/30/24

semicolons

and somehow i always return to the concept of semicolons.
there is something comforting to me about ending a line with a semicolon;
it's a clear stop, a smile at the end of an utterance, a fading sigh.
python is practical and elegant, and yet sometimes the semicolon-less lines
seem to hang out into infinity, waiting for something that will never happen
c++, on the other hand, can be clunkier and nonsensical at times,
and it is true that it is frustrating when a program doesn't compile,
all just because of a missing semicolon.
but when i am sentimental, such as at times like this, that is a small price to pay
for the comfort of the trustworthy semicolon.
besides, it makes for great emoticons. ;D

Ahh thank you, @LuminescentAnt!! Really appreciate your comment <3

~~~

Did not write a poem on the last day of NaPo Week, OOPS. Tbh I feel like my poems were kinda rushed and I wasn't feeling the poetry ~vibes~, but I'm still proud that I actually managed to write during what was a super busy week (as all of them are currently XP). And it was my first NaPo Week, so that's exciting!!
For the future, I'd like to keep reading poetry and writing and probably working on description and figurative language and phrases that actually make readers feel things... hmmm, lots to work on. Perhaps next NaPo XD (only five months to wait !!)

Awesome work on these poems, Mint <3 Love your creative style, as always!!!

Thank you so much, @EllieMae!! ^-^ <3