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the girl who tries

by bellathebookworm


i am her
the girl who tries

you know her
she walks in your halls too

her hair pulled back
her shirt tucked
her steps
carefully timed
to the beat of her treacherous heart

her grades
as polished
as the lies that slip off her tongue

she is neat
she is clean
she is good

she smiles
with tears in her eyes
and laughs with her torturers

and though she hates
what she has become

she does not know
who she is
without the mantle of expectations
on her fragile shoulders


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6 Reviews

Points: 399
Reviews: 6

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Sun Mar 20, 2016 2:28 pm
goldenbriarrose128 says...



This was such a relatable poem. I really liked the first two lines, but some punctuation would be good. (I know you've already gotten that comment.) Either way, the flow of the poem was really good! This should get a lot of recognition, so snaps to you!




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Points: 75
Reviews: 1

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Sat Mar 19, 2016 6:20 pm
nancnancrevolution says...



beautiful!




bellathebookworm says...


Thanks!



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472 Reviews

Points: 25
Reviews: 472

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Sat Mar 19, 2016 5:52 pm
Lightsong wrote a review...



Hey, bellathebookworm. :)

Alright. First of all, I like this poem. Its simplicity makes the message delivering effective. I usually comment on the lack of punctuations in a poem, simply because it can be confusing to readers as opposed to being a grammar Nazi, but I think it works here. The sentence structure largely here doesn't need punctuations to be clear, and so there's no problem in terms of readability.

i am her
the girl who tries


After these two lines, the poem goes to be told using third pov limited, using 'her'. The mention of 'i' here is awkward because it's sudden, so I suggest some rephrasing.

the girl who tries,
she is me


her hair pulled back
her shirt tucked
her steps
carefully timed
to the beat of her treacherous heart


The last line is longer than the rest, and so it breaks the flow. I think this poem is better suited to be delivered in shorter lines, because it makes the pace fast. I'm not sure why the reader needs to read the last line in one breath, because that's how it's going to be read if it's not broken either by using line breaks or punctuations.

she is neat
she is clean
she is good


I'm torn with this stanza. In general, this is obviously telling rather than showing. I would like it if you show how she is neat, clean, and good, but the three lines also seem to be like the chants you have in your mind, a reminder of what you should be. It's like Cinderella in Into the Woods, where she keeps repeating, 'be kind, be nice, be kind, be nice', along that line. I think it works here.

Overall, I think this poem is relatable. It just how society works where we should pass the standard of even being a decent person, and how it avoids us from being the person we wants us to be. I think this is an issue of being unable to weave between being yourself and being the person the society expects you to be, and it's one that's surely got for teenagers.

And that is all! Keep up the good job. :D




bellathebookworm says...


Thank you so much for the review! It was very helpful. I was really split on the first stanza, so it's great to hear another opinion on that. You completely nailed what I was going for on "she is neat, she is clean, she is good". She's trying to be those things, so she keeps telling herself that.



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60 Reviews

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Reviews: 60

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Sat Mar 19, 2016 5:30 pm
copgraveyard wrote a review...



this is actually decent.

even though you don't bring anything new or refreshing in the poem, you manage to step around all the obvious sayings and instead, bring something original for the idea you're presenting. there are some lines that don't flow that well ("she smiles with tears in her eyes and laughs with her torturers") but other lines such as the final stanza that does. it brings an interesting poetic perspective to something beaten like a dead horse. i was expecting something that i wouldn't enjoy , but you actually proved me wrong.

thanks.




bellathebookworm says...


This review is actually decent. When I saw the first line, I was expecting a rant. However, you gave useful feedback and showed me where I needed to improve. XD

Seriously, thanks for the review! I really appreciate it.




If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.
— Henry David Thoreau, "Walden"