Heyo Kayla, how's it going? I'm here to review this poem, as you requested.
To answer your specific questions:
I don't think that you should worry too much about length here. You say what you need to say, and don't add too much extra in the way of meaning. In the words department, there's a lot to streamline, but I'll get to that later.
The use of white space worked in the beginning of the poem, but seemed too abrupt near the end, when the line became straight. I think this poem meanders a little, especially near the end. I think you should try to use the white space to more reflect what's going on near the end. For example, perhaps you could try separating the math part from the love part. As that seems to be one of the points you're trying to make within the meaning of the poem.
As for the last line, I think it kind of spells it out for the reader a little bit too much. I like that it stings, but I don't think that it's actually functioning well within the poem as a whole. There's nothing wrong with it except that it slaps you in the face with what you're trying to say in the poem. While this has a place in poetry, I feel like this one might be better without the sudden "moral of the story" at the end. If that makes sense?
Girl, you've got some serious wordiness going on in your poem. I'm not sure if I've told you how I fix that, but I'll give you a quick rundown because you're bright.
Basically, take out everything that isn't needed, and then only add back in words if they significantly impact the feeling or meaning of the poem. I'll show you with a bit of your poem.
i ladle these thoughts with a wooden spoon,
letting them stew and simmer under the moonlight
that seeps through the curtains, spilling into the room.
i pretend that there is someone there
in that wooden chair to bring me solace;
I'm going to take out everything that isn't absolutely necessary.
i ladle thoughts,
letting them simmer under moonlight
seeping through the curtains, spilling into the room.
i pretend someone is there
in that chair to bring me solace;
All right, now let's change a little and add back in to preserve the texture of the poem.
i ladle thoughts with a wooden spoon,
letting them simmer under moonlight
spilling through the curtains.
i pretend someone is there
in the rocking chair to bring me solace;
Now of course, I changed "wooden" to "rocking," which was my choice-- please feel free to replace that word with any you choose, though I don't recommend "wooden" because you use it earlier in the stanza. But I digress.
This is more straightforward, and doesn't have all those pesky "those's" and "these's" to confuse the meaning. Try this with the rest of the poem, as well.
This is a nitpick, but I feel like I need to mention it.
they taught me math,
not how to love myself.
I feel like that comma would totally improve the entire poem because it would symbolize more than just a comma, but a revelation. This is what the poem is really about. I like the idea of an intentional pause before the poet reveals what they're talking about.
Otherwise, you've got some lovely imagery and feelings coming from this poem. I love this idea of thoughts simmering and stewing in moonlight. It has a really lovely cleansing feel, like the speaker in the poem is trying so hard to keep it together, but they end up needing more than their thoughts to keep them company. Altogether, I think this will be lovely with a few tweaks, and I really enjoyed reading it. I hope that this review proves useful to you! Happy poeting!
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