“The rhyming schemes,
The offset lines,
The poetry thing,
It’s not really for me,” she said.
Schemes sustain my every birth
Of poetry, I thought.
Coffee stains on sweater sleeves,
That’s who I was––
Green tote bag
And keeping lipstick around.
“But a hard bar drink,
Give me that or give me death,
Or Red Bull and a cigarette,”
She joked, with vodka on her breath.
“I’m always on the edge of poetry,
Can never locate my thoughts.
Roaming around like
‘Pick me, pick her,’
Cause I wanna make history
Not written by a victor.
“The winners choose how the
Endgame comes out.
You know
How slavery up north came about?
“No one’s a hero,
Just a kid with a cape.
Even I’m undercover with this
Paint on my face.”
I twist my sleeve,
Enduring all my pet peeves,
Like how she talks with a toothpick in her mouth
Or that laugh that
Makes me want to cough.
“I can’t help the jealousy when I
Read a good line.”
I can’t help the envy when she
Says exactly what’s on my mind.
M.M. Cochran is the author of YA novel Between the Ocean and the Stars and has an educational background in English and creative writing. She has worked in the journalism industry, as well as the agenting and publishing industry, and she is currently a news reporter for The Greer Citizen. M.M. can be found collecting coffee mugs, slipping into an oversized sweater, and hanging out with her standard poodle. Her debut novel, Between the Ocean and the Stars, can be found online at Amazon.com or Barnesandnoble.com. To keep up with her writing journey, follow her on Instagram @m.m.cochran_writer.
Featured image by Masha Raymers on Pexels
