All month I have been writing articles to encourage people to both read and write poetry! I hope I have opened your eyes to trying new things when it comes to checking out books at the library as well as making new creations. These are my favorite eleven poems that I have written throughout this month. I only had three rules for myself. No editing, no deleting, and no shame. These are rough pieces that I was inspired to write on that day. I hope you all enjoy!

1. Fuck Mayflies

April showers bring may flowers

And may flowers bring mayflies

And nobody fucking likes mayflies

They live for a day at a time

Don’t bite

Don’t buzz

Just stick to you and everything else.

and then collect on the ground in heaps

Under the street lights of the Walmart for our late night ice cream runs

Their bodies crunch under every step.

There was a summer that the may flies got into the fuse box at the grocery store I worked at

There were so many crusty carcasses that had surrounded the cables

It left us with out power

Have you been to a grocery that has no power?

Its unsettling

And the meat department suddenly becomes very sinister.

Every curses the may flies and their fucking need die so suddenly,

So quickly

So mass like.

I fucking hate mayflies, because they remind how easy it is to die.

2. Like I'm Underwater

Everyday I hold my breathe

I don’t know what for anymore

I don’t even know when this started

It’s just become part of my morning routine.

3. Too Much

I don’t understand what you mean when you tell me I’m too much to handle

“Your friendship is a lot”

No.

I just don’t think you’re enough

4. So Small, But So Big

The night light my mom gave me has stars the cover my ceiling

They expand on the walls and even dapple on to the floor.

Now,

I don’t feel claustrophobic when I have panic attacks.

Because all of a sudden I’m in my own universe

And everything is just a star.

5. The Sun Is A Star

That day I told you that you were the sun in my sky,

It was cloudy

6. To My Sonion

At work I found an Onion that had started to sprout.

Instead of throwing him away I kept him.

He’s now my Sonion.

No one should be thrown away for growing to become more.

Now, he’s an onion and chives!

7. My Strep Test Was Negative

My tonsils are swollen,

so I have this constant lump in my throat.

Like I am always ready to cry.

8. Still Too Much

When you have too much food you have leftovers.

An exciting promise for tomorrow.

When you have too much money you can save it.

For something you’ll really need will come up.

When you have too much love to give,

I don’t know.

9. Libraries Are Cool Too

When I buy a book,

it’s more than the person I’ll feel like in those heels,

more than who I’ll portray in that t-shirt,

and more than that colander I’ll use for mac and cheese on Thursdays.

When I buy a book I buy a world.

10. Go To The Doctor

Having mental illness can be described

as being a side character in your own story.

You watch as the plot goes on,

feeling like you can’t change anything.

It’s almost like, a scary movie.

You’ll yell at the screen,

“Don’t go into the closet!”

“Don’t pick up that knife”

“Don’t skip that meal!”

but you’re not in control.

At the end of the day, you’re yelling at a screen

11. Straight Hair Is Cool Too

I tried curling my hair.

I slept in the foam rollers,

thinking of how nice I will look in the morning.

I woke up with bruises on my head and hair that couldn’t be tamed.

Yet, I’ll try again tomorrow with a different size.

* * *

I hope you all had an excellent month and find that you did some very exciting new things. Leave some of your poems in the comments and we will all support each other!