do not drink me – National Poetry Month – April 29th

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

poem for a mess of a day – National Poetry Month – April 23rd

Prompt: Meme poetry = Found poetry. I created this prompt, sparked by an idea from the poetry workshop I attended recently. I’ve grabbed sections of the memes I’ve saved, smooshing them into a poem along with some of my own words. I have so many, this is my 2nd meme poetry. One more to follow at some point.

Today was crap. I’ve been in crisis mode for most of the day. But I still wanted to create something. Found poetry is perfect for that. Wonky photo to match the wonky day.

April is National Poetry Month. I’m going to attempt to write one poem every day this month. Today’s poem: 23/30 for April 23rd

poem for a mess of a day

Moonlight in her eyes

She silently stepped out of the race
Finding her own lane

She’s a soul searcher, deep in thought,
Her eyes telling tales of mysterious adventures

You say she’s pretty
But if Dracula saw her on the streets of Romania
Would they be so mesmerized by her beauty
That they would start writing a bunch of poems
About how much they crave her body and her blood?

There are people who don’t get obsessed easily
And there are those who let things consume their entire soul

Stars in her hair

Cats
Hard-wood floors
Tokyo drifting

Friends that leave you feeling more alive
After you’re with them
Are magic in human form

PTSD = Spicy déjà vu

Be a wild one
A room-wrecker
A reality checker
A fire-tongued, fierce leader
Be wild-hearted
A world-changer
Use those skills
To stand up for
Yourself
Those you love
And perfect strangers

Magic on her lips

Do you ever
Debate with yourself
About keeping a cardboard box
Because it’s a really, really good box

Be unhinged
Wear fancy clothes to the grocery store
Yell things at bugs
Be free

Here’s to unbecoming all the things
We thought we were supposed to be

Camilla Downs, 2024

Love Me Well or Leave Me Alone – National Poetry Month – April 17th

April is National Poetry Month. I’m going to attempt to write one poem every day this month. Today’s poem: 17/30 for April 17th.

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. I have so many, there will be two poems with this method. This was fun!

Love Me Well or Leave Me Alone

I be in my own lil world
You need a wrist band to get in here

You don’t have to be crazy to be my friend
I’ll train you

I speak in movie quotes
Song lyrics
And sarcasm

I gave myself permission last week
to never make sense again

I laugh at inappropriate times
I cry when I feel like crying
I usually say whatever comes to mind

I’ve dug deep
Asking myself why I am the way I am
Why I do the things I do
It has been, still is,
A ton of work
But it’s helping me thrive

Being neurospciy
Is a wild-ass ride
I’ve decided to embrace it
Have fun with it
And enjoy the ride

I have a limited amount of time
Left on this planet,
I’m not gonna spend it being
A watered down version of myself
Just so people can like me

For those who have contempt
I turn the volume up even louder

I recover out loud
To give voice to all who
Still suffer in silence

I can be in the house an entire weekend
Without wanting to go out
But I love going out to socialize

I can be a social person
But don’t always like to deal with people in groups

Noise easily distracts me,
But I am one loud woman

Why do I attract people with
The emotional intelligence and maturity
Of a coffee table?
Or those who seem to think
Manipulation and lying are some sort of art forms
To be mastered?

“We knew each other in a past life”
Isn’t cute to me anymore
I’m remembering why I stopped
Fucking around with you in 1911

I play with the fire of my own truth
I will burn for the things I love

Those tattoos will be on you forever
I hope so cause this shit hurt
And it’s expensive

Nothing refreshes my memory
Of what I need at the grocery store
Like coming home from the grocery store

My personality mix —
A needy 5-year-old who can’t control their emotions
A teenage rebel making poor life decisions
And an 90-year-old who’s tired and needs to sit and do nothing

I’m at the stage where I stay out of arguments
Even if you say 4+4 = 10,
You’re right
Have fun with that

Sorry I didn’t text you back for a month
Darkness overtook me
I strayed out of thought and time
Stars wheeled overhead
We had an eclipse
Every day was as long as the life age of earth
But I’m good
How are you?

Might fuck around,
Do silly, frivolous things
That make me happy
And become the version of myself
I’ve dreamed about

I am teaching myself to be as a child
Looking another in the eye
Declaring, “this game is no longer fun”
And so I stop playing it
Without guilt
And walk away

I will not be explaining myself

Due to not wanting to,
I will not be.

Camilla Downs, 2024