My first draft I just wrote whatever came to mind. But, in the end I thought it was too edgy and I scrapped it completely. I decided to choose a different genre of writing for my poem. I did not want to do something dark, I wanted to move out of my comfort zone a little more. So, instead I decided to choose a happier route. The main thing that guided me was all the different ideas I had for poems, I had so many I almost could not choose. But once I focused in, I found exactly what I wanted. I love to do photography of nature, so why not write about it too? I did not want to do anything too complex, or too simple, so I chose something in the middle. I encountered major challenges when I first started this project. Somehow rain leaked through my backpack and soaked the construction paper that I had folded. I did not want to refold it, so I had to stand in front of my fan until it was dry again. I also did not have any colored pencils because I wanted to color my drawings so I decided on a black and white approach. I feel my project turned out pretty good despite the challenges I had.

At first I did not really know what I wanted to do for my decorations. I had lots of ideas but nothing solid. But then it came to me. If my poem is about life and death, I should do a timeline. So, that is what I did. I drew the beginning, middle, and end of a flower. Each page is a stage of life or decay for a flower. The content of my poem really relates to the drawings, I tried to make it as similar as possible so the reader could get a clear picture. I want the reader to be able to understand what my poem means without confusing them with too much extra stuff on the page. I do think some of the other projects were cool that added more to the paper but I just did not want my pages to be crammed and messy. I really hope my poem and drawings synergize well even though they are kind of simple. But, I guess that is really up to whoever reads my poem if they perceive it that way. I do not hope for my poem to be seen as just perfect or amazing or innovative. I just wanted a short reflection of how simple nature can be in our complex world.

Unfolding Decay

How easy flowers have it
They don’t have a 9-5 job
Or do they?
Sitting in the sun
Basking in the sun
Grow, seed, and die
That’s all they do
I wish I was a flower
My arms like petals
Reaching out as far as I can
Escape the city life
Escape the stress
Escape the world
I imagine before us the
flowers felt peaceful
Are we the problem?
Or…
Is the only thing we do
Grow, seed, and die?

“I feel the light betray me“
-Linkin Park