Poetry

she’s not made for this world
of cropped tops and cold shoulders
of high-pitched cruelty
and eyeliner wings sharp enough to kill 
but she’d sell her soul
just to sit with them for five minutes

I like to think 

that if our friends;

sometimes the closest people in our life,

can see us for our soul.

Then so can others. 

Walking through the college greens 

On a warm night

Some random song stuck in my head

Playing on repeat once again

Smelling the new flowers blooming 

In the garden near my favorite picnic table

Hello

My name is Jaden

I am fifteen

And this is a poem

About me

About how I feel

Being a teenager

In 2025

Distance

Rain

Endless nights

With no end in sight

they gather in shadow beyond the monuments 
no longer chiseled names but men again 
haunted by what they see 
each bearing the weight of his vision now worn 
washington stands first 

Your whole self is being developed,

everyday you learn something new, 

you create your dreams into reality,

you can't wait to grow up,

yet you missed the good old times,

where you didn't have to 

We're only kids

But we need to be

As mature as adults

We're little kids

It's not safe

But we're basically an adult

So we can have adult responsibilities

We can't stay up with friends

I want to cry.

I want to cry

But I cannot.

Graduation

Graduation

They're leaving

It's finally happening and how will I survive

What if this what if that

Stress

Schoolwork

Why?

It's a question I ask

More and more.

How far

Am I willing to go for this?

As it gets harder

And harder.

Auditions.

I have to prove to other

People

Actual

Judges

One of the first songs

I learned to play

Was

"The Streets of Laredo".

I remember this

With all the other songs in that book

Too.

Now, it is

In my closet

Broken

The cover falling off

“Hey! Congrats, you finished! Would you like to see how far you’ve come?”

“Finished? What do you mean finished? It’s barely been a week, are you kidding me?”

You are not perfect, and that is okay.

Your best isn’t working yourself to a point where you have to sacrifice your mental health to succeed.

Someone cares about you.