In high school, I loved reading books but had no patience for poetry. It seemed hard to understand, difficult to read and pointless to try. My first semester, after being randomly placed in Contemporary Women’s Poetry, I began to fall in love. All it took was seeing lyrics in a new light — not a piece of literature to dissect and analyze under a microscope, but words in which to immerse myself — taking in the emotions and experiences of writers from around the world.
Poetry has been an important part of my life for the past three years — so much so that when I graduate this spring, I am going to apply to grad schools with the hope of being accepted into a MFA creative writing poetry program. The poems here are the beginning of my writing sample for grad school applications and a future chapbook, which is a short collection, usually less than 30 pages, of poetry.
“Amalgamation” depicts the creation of new life, and “Sunset Chasing” describes beauty in nature. “Universe” is a reflection on the smallness of our world, putting the occurrences of the other poems into perspective. Revision is a tough process, and any suggestions or critiques are more than welcome at wynn6465@fredonia.edu.
AMALGAMATION
Tousled sheets, messy hair, heartbeats
like a Lamborghini headed straight for a cliff
Faster faster time suspended for a moment
then crashing, tongues of flame
exploding momentarily before becoming a slow
embracing smoulder. Breathe slowly
in and out, unknowing. She curls up, nestles
her head into the hollow of his warm
shoulder. He caresses her, hand resting on
her flat taut stomach, pulls her gently
closer, skin to skin. Sphere and squiggle combine
two parts meet, hesitant at first,
biology soon takes over, new skin forms
inside the womb’s embrace.
A tiny human hugs itself.
SUNSET CHASING
rust stains the sky
bleeding through clouds
over jet trails
chasing birds chasing
the sun as it fades
a sliver on the horizon.
water ripples spread outward
distorting clouds
bending the universe into waves
whole sky impacted
by a tiny silver sliver
of a minnow.
snowy egret stalks
graceful bending neck
hunched into shoulders
pencil legs glide
through shallows
chasing the minnow
air hums with heat and mosquitos
heavy with leftover sunshine.
the egret’s pupil, dusky dark
opens swallows the whole sky
leaving only a twinkle of silver.
UNIVERSE
stars glint with a hard cold edge.
gauzy layers of atmosphere shroud
insignificant creatures trotting
through streets to square prisons of brick.
peer closer, look deep into this humming planet.
humans of all shapes, sizes, and colors
scurry in straight lines, all burdened
with perpetual hunched shoulders and shoe-stuck
eyes, they perform allotted duties:
pushing papers into piles of importance,
stacking numbers in infinite columns,
hoisting endless trays stacked with steaming sustenance
never tall enough to reach even the first star
further, deeper.
thoughts click through her brain,
unending slideshow of blurry pictures
crushing her shoulders further
under to do lists, the ping of emails and obligations
zoom out. the lense shoots backward, widening
the floating sphere swirls into blues and greens,
spinning inside a dusky cocoon
weightless, suspended nothing more than an anthill
in the dusty corner of the universe
star specks collect
volcanic eruption
an anthill attempt to sneeze