The Yelleti Times

    I was mindlessly scrolling through TikTok when I came upon a poem by an anonymous person that described how being the eldest daughter shapes different aspects of your personality. I resonated with this, especially the line, “to teach the young souls the boundaries / you learned a little too late / to only fall apart in private,” so the poem I created builds around that. Here is a link to the TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRnCbEpr/ Here is my poem: I’ll take the blame for you over and over again But how much can a heart take? I know you look up to me, and I’m honored you do But I’m not even half of our parents’ age I make the mistakes so you don’t repeat them I start your journeys so you can complete them I teach you all the things I learned too late But I’m not sure how much longer I can do this until I break I only let my emotions take over me when sleep takes over everyone For if they saw me, I know I’d be invalidated without question I’ve learned to become a li...

    It's who-knows-what-time in the night. Your body is lying still, but your mind is circulating one phrase. Instead of counting sheep, you're counting how many syllables the combination of words that thematically, impactfully, and melodically rhyme with that phrase must be. Then, after pouring your heart into your lyrics, you try to come up with a melody that creates the perfect sensations to convey your message as you transform your brain dump into something more beautiful - a song.      In my world, where I was constantly made to conceal my emotions growing up, singing/songwriting is a brightly-lit window of emotional freedom. Being an art of discovery of yourself and the world around you, it serves as my connection to society. When I was younger, poetry seemed like a language of its own. I vividly remember sitting in Mrs. Wright’s class in eighth grade, staring at words that were far too complicatedly-placed for my mind to even be willing to comprehend...