Looking at these poems, it seems like I was on a roll during my birthday month! I think I made a conscious effort to sit down and write something for the week. Here’s to hoping that it actually becomes a habit that I’ll keep for the rest of the year. Over the past month, I realized that doing these micro poems once or twice a week is actually a good writing exercise for me. It gives me an outlet to be creative. I know that my day job as a content strategist requires a lot of writing too but as I’ve told my friends before, not writing for money is such a welcome relief sometimes, especially during these trying times.
Micro Poem 1: Living in Twilight
I wrote this one in celebration of my boyfriend’s birthday. Rather than the usual birthday essay greeting on social media, I thought of changing it up a little this year and tag him in this post as a birthday greeting. I am not usually very cheesy on social media, so I’m not one to actually post relationship updates. But I admit that there are several occasions throughout the year that would make me come out of my shell and offer that big block of cheese for a birthday message. You know what I mean, right?
Quote: Amazing how wonderful life can be with a comfy bed and a fluffy cat.
This quote is dedicated to my beloved cat, Stormie, whom I fondly call my boyeing. I created an Instagram page (@whatstormiesays) for him last year, but I haven’t updated it since its creation. I thought I could just dump photos from my phone on that page, but it turns out that posting the photos are much more of a hassle than I thought. I especially bought an iPhone last year and bumped up the memory for my phone plan so I could take photos of my cat. So yeah, I am proud to call myself a cat lady, hence the quote right here.
As an extrovert and a generally vocal person, I sometimes find it hard to read between the lines. You can say that I’m not a very subtle person. I’m a loud person, not just in terms of decibels of my voice but also when it comes to my emotions. That’s why I find it fascinating when I can see how certain people can understand each other even if words were left “Unsaid.” And I’m not talking about romantic relationships, but just relationships in general.
Hypotheticals are great prompts, and that’s especially true for micro poetry, particularly this poem. I started with just the word— If. Then everything just flowed smoothly from there. I wrote this one with nostalgia in mind. I was thinking of how fond memories can awaken a lonely soul seeking solace. It brings us back to a better place and better days.
Micro Poem 4: For the weary. Rest your head. Be still.
This poem is one of my attempts at cheering myself up (and people who read the post) during the days leading up to another lockdown. I know a lot of us have been feeling mentally exhausted over the past year. The news that I kept on hearing makes me so tired and feeling so hopeless. I know I’m not the only one whose mental headspace thoroughly needs a break. All weary souls need a place to rest their heads and have their own moments of peace.
Micro Poem 5: Finding Yourself
This is yet another attempt at bringing a little perk-me-up poetry to welcome the weekend. Looking back, I don’t know how I found it in me to write something like this amidst these troubled times. And that was just a few weeks ago! You’ll find that the recent posts are the total opposite of this now. Maybe I wanted to write this so I can look back and read it again. It’s almost like a reminder or a note to self that I can read whenever things get tough.
As someone who writes for a living, words are my bread and butter. But sometimes, I have those days and moments that are so empty that I couldn’t even think of the word that would best describe this longing, this haunting in my heart. I wrote this poem to specifically describe that feeling of being haunted by something indescribable. I don’t know. Maybe I’m not that good of a writer, but during that day (with the news of the second lockdown and COVID-19 cases at an all-time high), I’ve never felt so wordless, powerless.
Neen Writes 