The Imperfection of Poetry: Poems, a Confession, and Recommendations

Confession: I’m extremely terrified of sharing my poetry.

There. I said it.

It’s true that I have two published books out there, but I still find I’m terrified of sharing my poetry. Not that they’re very personal—for some reason, I just feel more self-conscious about them than my actual writing.

Strange, isn’t it? But maybe those fellow poetry writers out there can sympathize. ;)

I got into poetry a couple of months ago. I’ve been working on a poetry journal of sorts, and while it’ll never be published, I’ve been having fun with experimenting. And experimenting = very rough poems that are far from perfect.

In this blog post, I’ll be sharing a few of my poems. Not because I want to—this definitely took some courage because I never like sharing my poetry—but in the hopes that maybe, one of these will help someone who stumbles upon these. And to throw a shoe at my perfectionist self who only wants to share my close-to-perfect work. Because in all honesty—poetry is raw, and imperfect. But that's what makes it beautiful.

So here goes.

✨ Lost in Space ✨

This poem is one of my favorites, honestly. I wrote it on the spur of the moment, trying to capture the feeling of loneliness, and a literal story of a girl whose childhood friend became an astronaut and died in space. It’s written in first person.

lost in space

-

Countdown

Three. . .

Two. . .

one

I could’ve moved,

I could’ve made you stay,

But there you are,

Somewhere in the distance.

And here I am,

Reliving the moment.

-

Rocket ships—

They’re just pieces of metal

Aren’t they?

Then why does one

Contain the power

To take you all away?

-

Colored smoke,

A neon blast,

And there I am,

Frozen fast,

Knowing Earth will never be your home

Again.

And there I am,

Just watching

Like a

spectator.

Doing

nothing.

-

They said

Goodbyes hurt

But did they really know?

The tearing,

The tears,

The heartache?

If I could bridge the distance,

I know

I’d gladly take the leap.

-

I can just imagine you

Looking out the window.

Watching your home

Shrink into a marble.

And me knowing

You’ll probably disappear.

And there you’ll stay,

Lost in space.

Among the stars.

-

Years later

And there’s a starry night

And here I am

Summoning every bit of strength

To pick up

A clunky telescope

And tilt to the sky

And tell the story

Of the friend

I once had,

You.

The one who was

Lost in space.

-

Maybe you’re still up there,

But who really knows?

All I can imagine

Are the explosions,

The tears,

The laughs,

The leap into the unknown.

But maybe there you’ll remain,

Just

Lost in space.

Among the stars.

Somewhere,

Alone.

✨ Hoping ✨

In this poem, I was trying to capture the questioning of life and the meaning of hope, while making subtle references to Shards of Sky and the main character’s personal journey.

H O P I N G

-

Hoping

For some, it’s a game for fools.

For others, it’s like grasping at a wisp of a memory,

Hoping that one day things will be the same.

-

Hoping

For me

Is like reaching

My fingers curling around cold air

Knowing something’s out there

And I just have to find it.

-

Hoping

You know,

Maybe it’s all in vain.

But for some, it’s the last thing they do

As they draw their last breaths.

-

But yet, if it takes so much

Why would they

Keep hoping?

-

Sometimes it feels like the void is too close

And the stars so far.

And the reality of falling

Is easier than trying to touch the stars.

-

Hoping

Is like staring into a world of death in winter

And knowing

That spring will soon come.

-

Hoping

Is like seeing someone draw their final breath

And knowing

You’ll see them soon.

-

Hoping

Is like dancing under the stars

Smiling on the darkest night

Laughing when the burden is too heavy

And knowing that someday

Things will get better

Because the Creator of the universe

Holds it all in His hands.

✨ Untitled Shards of Sky Poem ✨

Speaking of Shards of Sky, I wrote a poem based on Jenn and Aryon’s own personal struggles through the story. It was really fun to write from their perspectives, and meld their unique voices (or lack thereof, in Aryon's case) together.

Untitled

-

Jenn

Life was a cloud

And I was its shadow

Walking through it in a daze

Accepting, never hesitating

Because control was out of my hands

.

Aryon

Life was a whisper

And I was a voice

Piercing the darkness

With a violin song

Silent, still

Accepting everything

Because it was out of my control

.

Jenn

Memories plague

The past never leaves

But even though this is out of control

I can’t let them get to me

If there’s a light

Breaking through the darkness

I will reach and take it

And never let go

.

Aryon

When the world breaks

Where do you fall?

The only thing I can do

Is keep clinging to that voice

The voice I once owned

Until it melds with the song

A symphony

.

Jenn

Holding on

Though the memories choke me

Holding onto that light

Even when it doesn’t make sense

Because if I hold onto it enough

Maybe it’ll grow into a sunrise.

Maybe.

✨ Indivisible ✨

This is another of my poems that tell a story. I wasn’t too big a fan of this one, but I thought I’d add it anyway because I feel like I too often have an expectation of needing everything to be perfect before posting, and I want to be able to show that hey, I’m not very good at poetry. I make mistakes. I still write poems I, myself, don’t like.

With that aside, this is a historical fiction poem I wrote up not too long ago, spanning the lifetime of a girl who lost her father to a war.

Indivisible

-

Little girl kneeling by her bed,

Whispers dancing from her lips.

Her mind is only fixed on one sight⏤

A memory of her father.

Stepping onto a train,

Drifting into the unknown.

Her hands reaching out, grasping for him. . .

But all she gets is a wisp of smoke.

Little girl washing dishes,

The warm water caressing her hands.

She’s shoving back the edges of memories

That dare to seep through the cracks.

He whispers the fateful word, “Goodbye.”

His next ones doesn’t seem to soothe a soul

But he says it anyway

“I’ll miss you.”

Little girl reaching out,

Her hands drifting out into the unknown.

She’s not a little girl anymore

But her mind still chases after words she said long ago.

“You’ll come back, right, Daddy?” And the kiss he drops on top of her head

As he whispers the comforting words,

“I promise.”

Little girl kneeling by a grave,

Lowering a gauzy cloud of perfumed flowers to the earth.

Sorrow stealing her words,

Memories of the only promise he broke taunting her.

“I know it hurts, but be strong.

The war⏤or even death⏤cannot divide us.

I’ll be home again.”

Her own sob answers him.

Little girl closing her eyes

So she won’t see the sun rise

And feel the pain that it brings

Of the loss she’s tried to shake for sixty years.

Closing her eyes

To better picture the raging war he’s fighting.

Clasping her hands so tight,

As though doing that could somehow bring him safe to her.

Little girl feeling her last breath drift out of her,

Her heart dizzy from the pain that laces it,

But knowing it’ll be over soon.

Words giving her strength:

“Take heart, for someday the pain of the world

Will be no more.

And we’ll be together

Again soon.”

Little girl’s soul drifting,

Captured in the warm embrace

Of war-toned strength.

Home at last, proof of the words echoed long ago:

“Death cannot divide us.”

✨ On Poetry ✨

For me, poetry is often very raw, rough, and imperfect. But at the same time, writing poetry leaves me in constant wonder that God gave everyone a gift to use—something that should be valued. Words.

And by putting together strings of words to form poetry, one can capture precious things—memories, emotions, thoughts, and a lot more. Because trust me, those things don’t last forever. They take wings and fly all on their own.

Poetry, in some ways, has taught me to appreciate the smaller things in life. The gift God has given us—in the form of words. In finding ways to capture those memories for future generations to come.

Maybe that’s why I love journaling so much.

✨ Poetry Recommendations ✨

Who am I to make a post on poetry without listing some book recommendations by Christian young writers?

Waiting Spaces by Acacia Mitchell

Written by a fellow young author, Waiting Spaces is focused on waiting. In some ways, everyone is in their own space of waiting. Waiting for answers, growth, and more. A beautiful poetry book filled with letters, maybe you might just find one written to you.

For All of Them Lost by Ava Rose Scott

For All of Them Lost was written by another young writer and friend of mine, Ava Rose Scott. Her poetry book follows a story—a story of two young women and focused on the topic of abortion for pro-lifers and pro-choicers alike.

The Shadows of Dreams by Anna Stowe

The Shadows of Dreams touches on the subject of identity, the lies we believe, what the world says about us and who God created us to be. This book explores a message of hope that is so applicable to today.

Looking for more book recommendations? Check out the bookshelf, a new page on Quill of Hope designed to help you find your next clean favorite read!

I hope you enjoyed this blog post on the topic of poetry, and I hope you enjoyed the poems I wrote. If they’re a bit off, I haven’t been writing poetry for long, so forgive me if they’re all. . . well, terrible.

With that said, I hope you have a lovely rest of your week, and stay tuned for more fun things, poetry-related or not! ✨

P. S. Honest opinions here: Did you like my poems, or were they terrible? Which one was your favorite? What are some of your favorite poetry reads? Drop me a comment below. I love to hear your thoughts!

P. S. S. Oh, and next month is feedback month! Every five months or so, I'll be checking in to get feedback from all my amazing readers. So stay tuned for the survey!