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For being right.
For knowing more than you are expected to know,
For doing what is right.
For knowing who you are,
For knowing your worth.
For taking pride in your being,
For not being ignorant.
For being innocent,
For holding on to your beliefs,
For being hopeful and having faith.
For being loyal.
For being different.
For being an introvert,
For being an extrovert,
For being an ambivert.
For not being understood.
For choosing your own path.
For being your own best friend.
For loving yourself.
For leaving behind things and people for your own good.
For choosing to put yourself first.
For listening to yourself.
For being a woman,
For being a man.
For crying.
For believing you deserve the best.
For accepting who you are.
For being a cheerful person,
For being a quiet person.
For being beautiful,
For being confident.
For being realistic.
For being optimistic.
For being blessed.
For making yourself happy,
For taking yourself seriously.
For loving someone.
For being a human being.
If it is who you are,the only person to be sorry is the one trying to change you.
 Jan 2018 Emma
winter sakuras
I look out the window of my bedroom
that restricts the blowing wind,

and sets the boundaries
from spreading fragments of passion and life,

the sky is an ever expansive tranquil blue
to match the blank canvas of my mind,

and the sea of green grass,
sweep in the fields of emptiness
swimming behind my eyes,

although my heart beats, it seems to have
bursts into silver flames requiring handfuls of salt
to glow fervent shades of rosy red,

and I remember that in books, characters caught up in life
find themselves in rare, warm moments
and in lost, nostalgic, and heartfelt times,

while in my world of white and black, with shades of reality
flinging around paint cans of fraud colors,
I can't seem to find myself,

because I am not allowed to wander outside
onto the cracked, bent concrete of unknown roads
that would take me to a far more different world,

one that I wouldn't have thought to exist out of my dreams,
the dreams I once let my head full of stars relish in,

because I am not allowed to lose myself
in an ocean of people whose goals in life
is to find themselves,

who despite the broken shards of glass underneath
their aching feet
and the spiteful stares received towards the vibrant colors
rebelling against pitiful shades of gray skies,

are people who remember to keep their chins up,
and will forever dance
to the steady, unfair beat of life's rhythm,

but, why do my words always weigh heavy
in my heart like pounds of silver in a world
ruled by gold,

and why do I hold up the goblet of truth
but can never seem to find the strength to sip from it
and peer inside my empty self,

why must my life be put on repeat, and I struggle to rise
from my shapeless bed that every morning holds me captive,
binding me with my handspun bundles of faithlessness
in seeing the white grayness of another day,

and why do I live on slices of self-deprivation
and insecurities
to aid me with staying in the perfect, bony shape
of one who can no longer distinguish where real beauty lies,

why do my thoughts stumble upon each other like strangers
and fail to connect themselves,
as if they were meaningful words sadly destined
to be lost in the wind,

why do they swim around on the ruins of my bravery,
only to be at the end
submerged in heavy rains of silence,

why can I never stand tall on my feet,
and kick regrets away as fast as the changing tides
while heading towards dreams that would allow me
to relinquish feeling everlasting joy and hope,

and of course of all things,

why do I always ponder quietly fading away
to pure non-existence,
as the response to the guilt I feel towards
everything I have the privilege to call mine,

when in the end, I have never even once,
been given the privilege to

call ownership of myself,
of the person who I really am.
01/10/18
 Jan 2018 Emma
Taigu Ryokan
Too lazy to be ambitious,
I let the world take care of itself.
Ten days' worth of rice in my bag;
a bundle of twigs by the fireplace.
Why chatter about delusion and enlightenment?
Listening to the night rain on my roof,
I sit comfortably, with both legs stretched out.
 Jan 2018 Emma
Slur pee
Cover me in the pigment of your skin,
Trace my flaws with fingertips and watch as they diminish.
Help me find god, I’ll call to him in a quiver-
A prayer laid in your ears, by a gentle whisper.
Snake your arms around my spine as it slithers into shivers.

Twist my frame into a beggar,
“Please, sir, I want some more.”
You’re a giver to the paupers,
Benevolent and adored;

Paint me as many pictures, in many forms
Create something beautiful for others to behold
With your talent and your care, your body and your words.

-SLuR
 Jan 2018 Emma
Amanda Powell
Red flags in the beginning are easy to turn into little sticky notes, notes for later that sometimes lose their adhesive and fall to the ground much like my current tolerance for ****** dudes

The first known use for red flags was by the military to indicate they’re ready for battle, unfortunately I’ve seen enough red flags to start the next world war

I should’ve known
When I came back from Arizona and he said “you must’ve cheated on me because your ****** feels different”
Not because he’s insecure
or
because he doesn’t know trust
or
because he’s trying to assert control

I should’ve known
When he asked if I “had a problem getting wet because it seemed like that was a thing”
Not because he doesn’t know foreplay
(side note: **** doesn’t teach you foreplay)
or
because he doesn’t actually turn me on
or
because fun fact!- women can be turned on and not be wet

I should’ve known
When he said “if you shaved, then I’d go down on you 24/7”
Not because he was scared that choking on my ***** hair reminded him he’s with a real woman that grows hair
and humans inside her
and ideas
and opinions
and strength
and my body is not yours to give me ultimatums of

I should’ve known
When I asked if figuring out my pleasure was a burden and he answered “actually, yes it is”
Not because he’s too lazy to actually want to pleasure anyone but himself
or
because his only ****** education ended with a .com
or
because no one has ever expected more of him

I should’ve known when he said
“What I want out of a ****** partner is someone that wants me inside of them as soon as possible”
Not “inside my soul”
or
“inside my thoughts”
or
“inside my memories”
or
“inside an intimacy he will never know”

I should’ve known when he said
“Let me show you how Rachel did it”
Not “this is how I like it”
or
“can we try this?”
or
“opening your ******* mind to how another human being moves around you”

I should’ve known when
He spit on my ******, the universal sign for disrespect  
Like I deserve the same fate as tobacco swollen cheeks
Like my ****** is your spittoon,
am I the end of a tobacco session or a fancy wine tasting?
these things matter

Now I find it symbolic men are taught to spit while women are taught to swallow

Swallow our reactions
Swallow our feelings
Swallow our voices
Swallow his releases
Swallow his spit
Swallow us whole

When you see a red flag do not ignore that it means battle
This battle is not a healthy one, this battle will leave you bruised
Uproot this flag and take it with you to remind yourself
You can lose every battle and still win the war


11/28/2016 Amanda Powell
 Jan 2018 Emma
Amanda Powell
When people call me fun sized I don't know what to say.
Like if I was another size the fun would go away?

Some of my friends call me Nano, meaning very very small
A name I got in middle school and actually don’t mind at all

But this is because I own it and find it quite original
Unlike the normal comments that really aren’t forgivable

They say good things come in small packages but how can I know that’s true
When the world is full of big macs, and supersized taboos

Small things are always quiet, in corners or on display
I don’t want that fate for me, I’d rather be in the way

Making change is hard to do when adorable is your namesake
I’m activating feminist mode and trying to make an earthquake

No I don’t want to be your armrest, yes I’m tall enough for that ride
I’ll kick your *** at limbo, just watch me and abide

I used to wear high heels, to fit in with the crowd
Until a friend my size told me to embrace it and be proud

Now I wear flat shoes and am comfortable all the time
So when I’m kicking *** I can pivot on a dime

Sometimes my legs are tired from the height I’m trying to personify
So if you ask if I want a piggy back…that’s actually one thing I won’t deny

I like seeing it from your point of view even if it’s jaded
I do wish you could see it from mine though and find why my ideals have faded

“You’re cute when you're angry” they say, just like it's a compliment
But how would you feel if your emotions were reduced to words that aren't dominant?

When you grow up in a world where cute is your middle name
You don’t trust the ones that call you beautiful but who really is to blame?

Let alone if you ever hear “****” being said in your direction
Have you ever heard of a man getting a cute *******?

I’m ready for a shift and I can feel it in my bones
They’re aching to dance a new routine, with Beyonce in my headphones

Maybe that means they’re catching up, it’s about time for my growth spurt
After a life of half pint, shrimp and short stuff, watch as I convert


12/01/2016 Amanda Powell
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