Make yourself a list.
A list that is useful to you
and meaningful to you.

It need not be useful to others.
It need not be meaningful to others.
But it should be for you.

It need not be listed
numerically, chronologically
or in order of priority.

Marks will be awarded for
originality, banality, legibility
and indecipherability.

Marks will be deducted for
profanities.

It should be on my desk
by the end of school
on Friday.

Lists are what keep me whole
all year round. A jar full of happiness,
chalk board of errands and  
phone notes, reminding me I need bleach.

In 2022, what will I keep?
What gets discarded, what shall I burn?
No, actually let’s stick with discard.
I’ve always been afraid of fire;
I’m a water sign.

Keep:
Humour, for sanity
A helping hand, good karma
Animals and plenty of them
Mum, my arch and armour
Hope
Tea
Books in the bath
The friends who ask me how I am when I’ve forgotten to ask myself.

Discard:
Quite possibly, everything else.

Or, realistically, maybe
the lies. Just the ones about
my feelings.

The joy that comes with a pretty spring day
And stopping to smell the roses
Or listen to the birds
Or feel the warmth of the sun caress your skin

The joy of a smile
A laugh
A conversation with someone new
Or friends you’ve known forever

When you cross paths with an old acquaintance
You haven’t seen for a while

The feeling when you see the “A+” on a math test
That you’ve studied for for hours

The laughter you when your pet does something funny
Or a friend
Or a sister
Or a brother.

The happiness you feel when you know you’ve done something right
And can now relax, the burden relieved.

When you help someone
And know that it’s made their life
Or day
A little better,
A little easier.

The feeling when you realize
That maybe even reading a poem
Like this one
Can make you just a little bit happier.

I think I'm always stressed out
Because my mind is always a mess
I must have OCD for my thoughts
It makes me
u    
           n
c
     o   m
F    
        o
                      r
T           a
     b                l
              E
So I make lists of what must be done
What I want to do, what I'm going to do
And many more lists
To organize my thoughts, just a little bit

Write a poem
2. No seriously write a poem
3. Refer to step 1
4. Draw a mind map about things you think of
5. Draw a mind map about things you think of other than her
6. Give in to the fact the poem is going to be about her
7. Decide on what type of poem it's going to be
8. Work out how this one will be different from the other 29 free form poems you've written
9. Structure the meaning
10. Cut out that bit about love
11.Cut out that bit about ***
12. Change the meaning of the poem that you tried to structure in step 9
13. Make the poem less depressing 14. Scrap the joke about salad dressing
15. Stop forcing rhymes
16. Scrap everything that is trying to force comedy
17. ...realise you've just had to delete the entire poem
18. Refer to step 1

They Judged endlessly
    Decided instantly
Before
We spoke.
Who is this person?
Cars,
Nails,
Clothes ?

Endless lists don’t determine who a person is
Please. I beg of you,
Look beyond the list.

Phrases heard In:
Black Jack,
League of Legends,
and The Bedroom.



"This is supposed to be a team game".

"Tap like this, to hit it".

"Let's Double up".

"I need a leash".

"No, no, no, never do that".

"That's everything I have"

"Forfeit Forfeit.. Just forfeit."

"There's no chance"

"Just keep trying! don't give up! we can do it!"

"It's just not in the cards, man".

"I wouldn't risk it".

"Never stray from your strategy"

"Push".

"just take the tip".

"Nice job!"

"We're ******".

"We should end it".

"When you go in and out like that, it throws everything off".

"BUST, BUST, BUST, BUST"

"Awwwww".

"Okay, let's finish"

"Sup"

"I always end up on bottom".

"Hit me".

"Ace!"

"split them".

"stay in your lane"

"Stop being toxic".

"He busted!"

"We won!"

"this is a battle of attrition".

"I don't have enough money for that."

"I'll move to the middle"

"Look at this champion!"

"Consider yourself honored"

"You didn't listen, you should have listened".

"How do I play this, Champ?"

"Don't hit the 18!"

"Come onnnnn!!!! COME ON!"

"****!"

"That was a terrible start"

"You got lucky"

"We got lucky"

"That was a hell of a match".

"Good game"