My eyes are still red,
itchy, puffy, and tear-filled,
but I feel
better.
The initial pain is gone,
and it’s time for me
to move
to change
to decide what I need to do next.
For although crying has certain
healing qualities,
it in no way resembles
a solution.
Although the worries may
leak out with the tears,
the problem is still there.
And now I must face it.
I wish I knew what was in their heads.
Are they full of worries, fears, doubts?
Or are they truly as joyful
As they seem on the outside?
It does not seem possible,
Though I guess it could be true.
Could it really be true
That some of those heads
Are filled with ideas of the seemingly impossible?
Or do I alone have these doubts?
Maybe I should let these fears outside
Of my head because I want to be joyful.
Is it possible to feel joyful?
Is joy a real and true
emotion, affected by what happens on the outside?
Or is it something in my head,
that I have to keep despite my doubts?
This could be possible.
And it’s just as possible
For me to leave joyfully
Even though I have disappointments and doubts.
And I think it’s true
That this can help me get ahead,
And can protect my inside when I’m hurt from the outside.
It’s cold outside,
And not just in the air, but possibly
Everywhere, though some of it’s in my head.
How do I, despite this, remain joyful?
Especially when I know the truth
And I still have so many doubts.
They keep telling me, so I doubt
I can control the outside.
But sometimes I still don’t believe that’s true.
Though maybe it really is possible
That I can be joyful.
I’ll have to keep that in my head.
I doubt that I’ll ever see in their heads,
And I truly shouldn’t worry about the outside,
But I’ll remain joyful because that is possible.
There’s nothing better than to go to school
everyone says, “you need an education to make it in life”
it’s all about making money
supporting yourself, because the future is no party
I don’t want to be poor
when I’m no longer a student
Isn’t it great being a student?
three, four, ten more years in school
with all this tuition, how can I not be poor?
I might be in debt for the rest of my life
but at least now I get to (soberly) party
I really wish I had some money!
I need some toothpaste, but I have no money.
Personal hygiene is forgotten when you’re a student
some return and vomit all night after a crazy party
but I stay in and study so I don’t fail out of school
and I stay sober so I can remember life
besides, I don’t have quarters to wash my clothes ‘cause I’m still poor
But then who isn’t poor?
Does anyone in college have money?
Maybe people drink so they can forget the hardships of life
but is life so hard as a student,
protected by the familiarity of school?
It may be hard now, but like I said, the future is no party
I’ve never been to the casino or a drunken party
I’d rather not come back feeling poor-
ly like some of the other kids in school
and I’d rather not go to a place that consumes my money
after all, I am an impoverished student
besides, I have a life
Someday I’ll decide what I want to do in life
but this weekend I’ll just have a movie party
and continue being a directionless student
so what that I’m poor
to have a good time, I don’t need any money
although I guess I do to stay in school
Anyway, life isn’t all about having money
school is a party if we choose to have fun
I’ll always be a poor college student at heart.
This is a poem I wrote for a creative writing class. It's sort of modeled after the Robert Frost poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening."
The birds will then begin to sing
And we will see them on the wing.
To summer’s heat the birds will fly
And that will change most everything.
There will appear a bright blue sky,
In which the sun will stay up high.
We’d like this time to just stay near,
But these long days go quickly by.
Fall may bring us change and fear,
But I am always happy here.
In this way passes one more year,
In this way passes one more year.
