A Selection of Poems
By Erin Smith
A Selection of Poems
By Erin Smith
“Window”
Outside her name is confident.
Outside her name is happy.
Inside her name is lost.
Inside her name is broken.
Tomorrow, her name will be gone.
“Misunderstanding”
She sat unsure & insecure.
Yet was beloved in all ways.
Not according to surroundings, but her Surrounder.
“Mourning”
Five in the morning
The sky is still black outside
My dorm room windows are fogged from the change in temperature
I can feel how cold it is outside my blanket from the ache in my toes
My hair is still wet from the shower I took six hours ago
My eyes are still puffy- I don’t think they have stopped leaking
I have sunk into this bed
It surrounds me on all sides
It serves as the only comfort I receive
I don’t want to leave
God, are you still here?
Have you not called me to this?
Are you sustaining me?
Do you care?
“Honestly”
I blur my eyes every time I step in front of a mirror.
I am afraid because I know what I will see.
Restless, somehow both obese & anorexic.
My ripped skin & eyebags-
they only reveal how I feel on the inside.
I am a hamster running endlessly & getting nowhere.
I hear my eyes crying for help.
I cannot listen to them.
I have no time.
“Bedtime”
My eyes raw & my brain soup,
I give up for the night.
This lifestyle is sandpaper, grinding me down until there is nothing left.
Slowly I am losing myself.
Nonstop every day from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m.
I work too hard to be able to complete this stuff on time.
But maybe I can last longer than the semester.
Remain grateful.
“Surfer”
I once knew a surfer
She was effortlessly beautiful in all ways
From morning yoga to late-night fruit bowls
She stayed tan all year round
With no need for shoes
The sand her floor and the sky her roof
She floated on coconuts and pineapples
Her heart was free
Her mind was brilliant
She never had to worry about what other people thought
On the weekends, she would create
Endless flowers and scriptures
Paintings and poetry
She was sunshine
So bright and warm
Bringing truth to every situation
She was perfume
So pleasant and celestial
Captivating others in any room
“Perspective”
I am a small purple room
With windows on all sides
Nothing to see
At first
Up close
Zoomed in
I am particles of dust
Silent killer
Breathing in my own air
The same air
Over and over
Until I drop
“Busy”
Busy
What a horrible thing to be
Five am to nine at night
No time to finish
No time to start
No time to cry
No time to think
But maybe that’s a good thing
Maybe being busy is a good thing
So here I live
Favor is too far for me to grasp
refusing to accept any of the thoughts in my brain
Distracted
“Wonder”
You stare in wonder
At the glorious thing in the sky
I stare in wonder
At the glorious thing on the ground
“Breakup”
I see the flowers on your windowsill
They’re not from me
Does he love you?
“Safe”
I am
alone,
not
lonely,
not
by myself.
Protected
not
isolated.
“Sun”
I am the sun:
bright
& far.
What I give you,
the things that I radiate-
they only distract you.
You cannot see me.
You do not know me.
But you take from me.