As of late,

I have immersed myself

In the works of Ellen Hopkins.

She has taught me that poetry,

Does not need to be a rhyming couplet,

Or in stuffy iambic pentameter.

But rather,

 

It can take shape

Become whatever you want,

To serve your purpose.

Flow.

 

Hopkins’ writing focuses

On troubled teens and

Their troublesome lives.

Gives us a raw look at

The suicidal, the addicts, the manic,

The broken families, and perhaps,

I relate to these characters

 

A little too well.

 

I find a refuge within her words.

I burn through the pages, and

I feel that they were written for me

And I find comfort knowing

That someone else’s life

Can be just as screwed up as mine