Young Writers Society

Heyo, I'm back for the aforementioned review!!

Interpretation
My first instinct is to interpret this poem as being about someone who is aromantic, and how they feel broken in a world where everyone around them is falling in love. There's a bit of breaking-the-fourth-wall in some of the stanzas, too, so it seems like within the poem itself this person is using writing as a way to process their confusion around whether they've actually been in love and whether any of their relationships have been "real".

"all my lovers say they're not enough for me"

Using the aromantic interpretation - the lovers who have all said this to the narrator have recognized, somehow, that the narrator isn't really in love with them in the traditional sense, and so they assumed that they are simply not enough for the narrator. (when in reality, perhaps, the narrator simply doesn't experience that kind of attraction.)

but i don't think love works that way.

Then here, the narrator acknowledges that if all their partners have noticed and voiced this thought, then perhaps it isn't because they simply haven't found the right person; instead, it's because love doesn't work that way for them. This is expanded on more later, when they talk about not remembering a time they've been in love.

Another possible interpretation is simply that this person in the poem feels that their previous relationships have all been too superficial, and that they haven't ever been in love with their previous partners; and are hoping that maybe their next partner will be different. So very similar, just minus the aro element.

Style
So I voiced this in my comment briefly, as well - but I feel like you've taken on a noticeably different tone and style of diction for this poem, and I'm kind of loving it! (Disclaimer that I also love your other style, it's just super cool to see you trying out different poetic voices.)

If I had to sum up the difference, I think it's the result of a couple main changes:
* the language used feels less abstract & more grounded
* there's a lot less imagery, and the imagery you do use is a lot more literal
* the tone comes across as a bit more positive; I read it as acceptance, where as a lot of your other poems have more bitter/angry vibes

None of these are inherently good or bad changes! I find it interesting to figure out what they are, though, and I figured you might find it interesting/useful as well. ^-^

i shouldn't compare myself to ghosts,
but maybe i can learn a few things from them.

I did enjoy this reference to your love for poetic ghosts! Again, though, it feels a bit more concrete than how you usually use them in your poetry, since here it's implied that you're referring to a particular ghost that has already been talked about in the poem. <3

Overall - I really enjoyed this poem. It feels so down-to-earth and real, and as someone who's been struggling to differentiate between the different types of attraction recently, it's inexplicably comforting to read a poem about this. I honestly am having trouble coming up with constructive criticism? So I'm going to end this review here, but if you would like some actual critiques let me know and I'll take another stab at it ^-^

Sincerely yours,
beetle