I just realized that if you click on a google doc link (from a mobile device) it also messes with the line formatting. Which makes this particular one more puzzle than poem 🫠 So I could either make the poem as an image or share a link with that caveat… ?
Oh no!! Mobile is the worst. I just saw the poem I sent out in this week’s newsletter also got way messed up. 👎. So yeah, maybe make a quick image in canva or something? Or just take a pic of it formatted how you like on the doc on your computer? I want to read it!
I am catching up, finally. It looks like the prompt for this one isn't in the subscriber chat yet so I'll just post it here--let me know if that was the wrong procedure!
What You Missed at Bachelor Night
The episode, of course—that thing Jenny C. said
that made Amanda R. cry; that windy kiss
in the helicopter, headsets bonking
together like middle-school braces,
the crumpling faces of the rose-less women.
The homemade sourdough scones Evie baked
because the day stretched on like a blank
ream of paper, begging to be filled.
Dina dissecting every bulge and blemish
of the gorgeous women on-screen, holding a pillow
across her belly. Rachel, starry-eyed
as the leading man validates each woman
parading her traumas in a bid for connection,
imagining her own husband’s hand on her thigh
as he asks her how she feels, really.
And the whispered confidences after the final rose—
the thorns in the flesh, the shards of glass
under our bare feet. For some reason, we do not say
I want to be with you because I am lonely.
Instead, we turn on a show and gather
at its plastic altar in exchange for those few moments
before we slide our feet into slippers and walk out
Confession: I’ve never seen the Bachelor. But even with no context or visuals for my brain to pull up, I loved reading this poem so so much. The middle school braces, the thorns in the flesh. And the way this one ends is SO good. I’m glad you write poems, and that I get to read some of them. ❤️
Ooooo I really like how this framing/pacing works though!! It like really highlights the tension of having to go through all of this. Super cool effect.
K, this is a very drafty draft! Started with thinking I was going to use the “bedtime routine” container, but it kindof just morphed into one moment.
Non-toxic
I almost missed it, rushing in across the frosty porch.
That quick look through the window. There
you are, framed and glowing against the dark, our girls
on either side. You’re reading again at bedtime. Their feet up,
almost as big as mine now, and you, their safe place still.
Watch, how he cries. A character has just been brave, and he
finds himself undone. Watch now, as he blinks and they snuggle in.
The dog looks up, then settles. I can’t look away. What we have
stomached together, this year, and all the others. This world has ended
so many times but how easily I melt
to witness this: what a good man can give.
This is beautiful! I especially love "This world has ended / so many times but how easily I melt."
gorgeous brinn!
Brandi where did yours go??? I saw the notification you'd shared a link, and was just coming back to read it and now I can't see it!!
I just realized that if you click on a google doc link (from a mobile device) it also messes with the line formatting. Which makes this particular one more puzzle than poem 🫠 So I could either make the poem as an image or share a link with that caveat… ?
Oh no!! Mobile is the worst. I just saw the poem I sent out in this week’s newsletter also got way messed up. 👎. So yeah, maybe make a quick image in canva or something? Or just take a pic of it formatted how you like on the doc on your computer? I want to read it!
Wrote this while I drank my coffee today ☕️
Heat the water
Dishes fill the sink
Scoop the beans
Am I doing enough
Grind them fresh
The days are long
Into the French press
Life moves so fast
Wait five minutes
This moment is slow
Pour the coffee
My heart is full
Add a splash of creamer
It’s all bittersweet
Delicious. That last line! ✨✨✨
I am catching up, finally. It looks like the prompt for this one isn't in the subscriber chat yet so I'll just post it here--let me know if that was the wrong procedure!
What You Missed at Bachelor Night
The episode, of course—that thing Jenny C. said
that made Amanda R. cry; that windy kiss
in the helicopter, headsets bonking
together like middle-school braces,
the crumpling faces of the rose-less women.
The homemade sourdough scones Evie baked
because the day stretched on like a blank
ream of paper, begging to be filled.
Dina dissecting every bulge and blemish
of the gorgeous women on-screen, holding a pillow
across her belly. Rachel, starry-eyed
as the leading man validates each woman
parading her traumas in a bid for connection,
imagining her own husband’s hand on her thigh
as he asks her how she feels, really.
And the whispered confidences after the final rose—
the thorns in the flesh, the shards of glass
under our bare feet. For some reason, we do not say
I want to be with you because I am lonely.
Instead, we turn on a show and gather
at its plastic altar in exchange for those few moments
before we slide our feet into slippers and walk out
to our cars in the snow.
Confession: I’ve never seen the Bachelor. But even with no context or visuals for my brain to pull up, I loved reading this poem so so much. The middle school braces, the thorns in the flesh. And the way this one ends is SO good. I’m glad you write poems, and that I get to read some of them. ❤️
I'm really excited for this one. This poem has always been when of my favorites and I can't wait to give this prompt a try!
Ooooo I really like how this framing/pacing works though!! It like really highlights the tension of having to go through all of this. Super cool effect.