April is National Poetry Month. I’m going to attempt to write one poem every day this month. Today’s poem: 29/30 for April 29th

Prompt: Meme poetry = Found poetry. I created this prompt, sparked by an idea from the poetry workshop I attended this past Sunday. I’ve grabbed sections of the memes I’ve saved, smooshing them into a poem along with some of my own words and some song titles.

do not drink me

You can miss something,
But not want it back

It takes more than inches
to reach a woman’s soul

Don’t try to explain yourself to idiots
You’re not the fuckface whisperer.

Mirror, mirror on the wall
Why do you tell me lies?

Growing up in an unstable household
Means believing there’s something unlovable about you
Means seeking attention
Means oversharing with people you barely know
Means daydreaming of scenarios of people caring about you

Healing from things no one ever apologized for

Vacations are cool
But have you ever stayed home in
your comfy clothes and not spoken
to anyone for a week

Sometimes I wear my boogie shoes
To the grocery store
And I get down on it

Have you noticed that some people
get offended when you aren’t ashamed of
things they were taught to be ashamed of,
resenting you for not caring what
everybody thinks?

Normalize being okay with letting people
think whatever they want about you

New way to reply to emails
“Go away, never contact me again”

When I was in second grade
I lost my favorite pair of earrings
In the ditch at school
While waiting for my parent to pick me up

I was devastated
Crying until my eyes were so puffy
I could hardly see

Red ladybug earrings
with black spots
and a gold back

The distance you kept during my struggle
I’ll need to to double it during my success

If the vibes get weird
Move on
This is the end
of forced conversations
Friendships
Relationships
Attention
Love
If it’s forced
It’s not worth it

Don’t mistake kind people for doormats
They’ve seen a lot
Been through even more
When pushed
They will demonstrate the emotional strength
They’re capable of

Let’s raise our glass
to being born this way

Settling for trash people is over
Being alone is approximately 7,000,000
times better than sitting here
questioning your self worth because some
fucking loser doesn’t know how to respond to a text

Be done with spending too much time
analyzing the emotionally unavailable person
Walk away

Some people be like
You have good energy
Hold up
Let me get my straw

I didn’t know what I was in for
When I let go
Of the stories
And said,
YES.

Camilla Downs, 2024