FEATURED Poet for May 2014
|
Prose Poetry
Synesthesia In a sound of sweetness and a vision of heaven, he approaches with miraculous color. In a moment so white with a mind so blank, I only recall the details as if I tasted the scene but did not eat it. I feel the warmth, the red on my cheeks as the hand of an angel finds its resting place upon me. With a silent speed, carefully calculated, with care so loud, I’m drawn in by the hand on my back. The pace of my heart turns to tornado as everything else slows to a halt. His eyes, they run up and down my body and I allow them. We find each other’s glance, lock it, and lose the key. An inhale, blue like the ocean before the sand clouds it with gray; an inhale and there’s no going back. I sense jasmine as my own perfume resonates onto him and returns to me as it lingers in the air, reluctant to leave the moment. His breath is steady and sure with a feeling of wild desire coated by strength and confidence. I see his lips on mine as my eyes close and I taste his passion with a scent of salt in tears. ABOUT THE AUTHOr“NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS IN LIFE, BE GOOD TO PEOPLE. BEING GOOD TO PEOPLE IS A WONDERFUL LEGACY TO LEAVE BEHIND.” ~TAYLOR SWIFT
Cheyenne Drews is a Senior at New Smyrna Beach High School. Taylor Swift is her biggest inspiration. She loves to act, and her ideal friend knows an endless supply of cheesy jokes and
how to listen.
What do you like to read? I’m currently into the dystopian future centered books, (Hunger Games, Divergent, Gone Series), which I know is very mainstream but I make up for it by staying out of the wizard and vampire scene. Describe your writing process. The writing that I usually end up liking the most almost always originate in the strangest ways like on the back of a receipt or a restaurant’s napkin. When I write to pass the time or as a medium of expression for emotions too raw to verbalize, it’s the most genuine I can be. I’m very much a perfectionist and I’m only satisfied when my work feels authentic, purposeful, and encompasses something bigger than myself. What inspires you? I look for inspiration in all parts of life because I believe that motivation drives humanity. Kindness inspires me as a person and the lack of it inspires a lot of my writing. Typically, if something in my life has me thinking about it after I've separated myself from a situation, no matter how small it may seem, I’m going to write about it because my subconscious tells me it’s important. Any advice do you have for new writers? My advice to new writers would be to not go out looking for advice. Writing is one of the most personal, direct means of expression and there’s no right or wrong if you’re getting something on paper. Write about what you know. With that in mind, always work to expand your vocabulary because the more specific you know how to describe something, the more complete it will feel. Don’t ever force yourself to write something and expect it to be beautiful; when you feel compelled to do it, do it. |
Poetry
How To Grow Up Look: at the flowers, at the sun, at the beauty only you can see. Talk and laugh. Cry: it won’t be your last time. Enjoy the time with your cousin before time changes him. Trade goldfish for applesauce and find friends. Play make-believe and live in your own world. Mommy and Daddy love you to the moon and New Hampshire and back. Go to the races with your dad. Let your mom do your hair. Watch everything change. Feel everything grow. Hear people say, “it gets better.” Don’t believe them. Lose your friends each year. Hear them say, “We’re better off.” Correct them when they say, “we.” Eat lunch in the handicap bathroom stall because it’s better than being alone in the crowded lunch room. Notice that boys don’t seem to have cooties anymore. Hear the adults say, “The best four years of your life are coming.” Believe them. Wake up before the sun does. Make life decisions in the shower. Meet your best friend; the sister you wish you’d known all your life. Find your reason to be and a family of peers that share the same passion. Notice the presence of your heart and wonder how long it’s felt lonely. Wonder how much longer it will feel that way. Meet the boy next door. Cry when your best friend loves him. Say to her, “It’s because I’m happy for you.” Learn to love him like a brother. Feel tears silently escape from your eyes when you try to sleep. Crave just once for someone to ask if you’re ok. No one will. Fight with your parents. Tell them nothing except that they don’t understand. Notice the gray beginning to reveal itself in their hair. Hug them a little tighter. Tell, “Him”, when you’re finally together, he’s perfect. Know in your heart he was worth it. Hear people say, “Look at how cute they are together.” Hate doing the dishes like you hate overplayed songs. Get used to losing family. Spend too much time on the internet. Don’t spend enough time living out dreams. Procrastinate like you know there’s a tomorrow. Make yourself look pretty. Feel the world end when he breaks your heart. Put it back together again. Spend prom night alone. Read and eat ice cream with a thousand regrets. Fall in love with fictional characters. Stare into your parents’ eyes and know they only keep it together for you. Let them borrow money because you do for family. Don’t let them forget they did. Dance alone when you’re supposed to be cleaning. Go to your last football game. Shake your principle’s hand with purpose. Tell him that you’re going to make him proud. Make him proud. Live the dream you’d always dreamt but never spoke. Be your best friend’s maid of honor. Find who you’ve waited for and never let him go. Hear people say, “Look at how happy they are together.” Give Daddy butterfly kisses before he walks you down the aisle. Marry on a hillside of lavender. Say, “I do.” Whisper so much more. Settle down, spend time to sit and talk. Sometimes you won’t have to talk. Sometimes you will. When you’re ready, expand your family. Learn as you go how to be the mother that’s always lived inside you. Protect the children that are your everything. Cherish every moment and break down every day. Ask your mom for advice. Watch your children grow up in no time. Plan for them the best birthday parties. Always make cookies for after school. Tell yourself that heartbreaks will make them stronger. Help them move out but do not let them see you cry. Still have date nights with your soul mate. Reread the old love letters and fall in love each day. Let him hold you when you lose your parents. Life will go on, but it will take someone strong. Grow strong. Get the arrangements together and cry, every night. Talk to them. Talk to God. Wish you’d talked to your mother more. Wish you’d hugged your father more. Become a grandparent and spoil your grandkids. Look into your husband’s eyes and feel butterflies. See him still act as a gentleman even as his mind starts to fade. Slow dance with him as you rest your head on his shoulder. He’ll make it ok you missed your prom. Hold his hand as his eyes close. Prepare the memorial. You’re stronger this time. Decorate with his favorite flowers. The kind he brought on your first date. Look; at the flowers, at the sun, at the beauty only you can see. Talk and laugh. Cry; for your last time. And look back knowing you never really grew up. |