If you do not
pull the weeds from the garden:
flowers will never grow.
I kept pulling,
hoping one day soon,
all would disappear.
I want flowers to bloom:
I really do.
6 would grow in the place of the
one I thought I had conquered.
Each morning,
I waited for the rain to stop–
sometimes, it never did.
But when it did,
I would venture out,
tugging at the weeds I didn’t want
anyone to suspect I was growing,
planting more seeds of flowers
everyone thought I already had.
The rain never seemed to help sustain the flowers-
maybe I wasn’t meant to have a garden of bright,
golden sunflowers:
Mourning grass could be beautiful too.
It was a constant battle:
sending out a postcard of my dream reality,
while the garden of my mind,
was a mess I wanted no one to see.
I learned to disguise the weeds as flowers
anytime someone would get a little too close.
Was it unfair of me to wish for sunlight when I had rain?
Did I not deserve the flowers?
Why could I not bring myself to admit
I needed someone to help me pull at these weeds?
One day,
These weeds will disappear,
flowers will bloom.
Rain will turn into sunlight,
and postcards of a beautiful garden,
will no longer be an illusion.
I hope on this day,
someone will tell me:
it was okay to feel this way,
and I will believe them.
Dear Alyna,
First and foremost, you are such an amazing and talented writer!!! Your words were beautifully crafted and weaved together with such rhythm that I was just amazed! I especially loved the line “planting more seeds of flowers everyone thought I already had.” Because it is very relatable and made your piece even better by getting a connection to the reader! I also loved how you stuck with a few images throughout the poem which made it seem more whole! I honestly don’t have any advice to give; I thought this was an incredible piece and I’m excited to read more from you in the future!!! 🙂
Truly,
Simran C.
P.S your writing also reminded me of another writer, who I love, Amanda Lovelace.
My beautiful Alyna,
You have written with such grace and class, I am impressed. You had my heart the entire time. And I promise, it’s okay to feel this way. My only suggestion is to make it longer. I love you.
Love,
Tolu x
Dear Alyna,
I have really enjoyed getting to know your poetry through the time spent last year and now this year in CW. The romance, the implications of self growth, it is all a kind of topic you have endeared me more towards with your work. The stanza which really stood out for me in this was:
¨tugging at the weeds I didn’t want
anyone to suspect I was growing,
planting more seeds of flowers
everyone thought I already had.¨
I can really identify with this metaphor of insecurity/self consciousness and this is a huge strength in your writing. You get people to look inward with the beautiful simplicity in your writing.
– Reegan =)
Dear Alyna,
I feel like your poetic voice is one of the strongest I have ever heard. The whole concept of removing the negativity from our lives by puling the ‘weeds from the garden’. This relation of hope to getting a new flower was quite powerful, and I could feel your emotion through every line. It is difficult to refrain from being cynical when there is all this negativity within us, but I guess we just have to accept these weeds and hope for flowers to bloom.
To improve, I think it would be cool if you tried having a more defined structure in terms of rhyme scheme or just the way it looks because experimenting with different styles of writing is what can really strengthen you as a writer.
All in all, I really hope you keep trying to post on this blog as your writing offers so much insight that can be really inspirational.
Sincerely,
Abhay
Dear Alyna,
I have no words to describe how beautiful this piece is! I absolutely love all the imagery you added into your poem because that is one thing that draws readers to what they are reading. This poem is so heart breaking in the most beautiful way.
I would have loved if you added on to your last stanza, the idea of hope and the extent to your desire to want it. Or maybe adding a twist and losing all the hope.
I really enjoyed reading this and will continue to read more of your work, this was beyond excellent!
Sincerely,
Maira