NaPoWriMo #1-7

[royal wharf]

(Been trying to write 30 poems for the entirety of April for NaPoWriMo, these are the first bunch that I finished editing. I'm posting them together so I don't clog up the posts. The topics I'm writing about aren't sensitive, but I'll censor out anything I assume would require discretion)

#1
Self-Proclaimed King
(author notes: since there's a swear word here but the poem isn't about a sensitive topic, I took out the swear. Y'all are poets, you can figure it out from the rhyme scheme, or just go to my Insta)

Here you go again with your speech about being—
A self-proclaimed king of some no man’s land.
Before I thought that I was your knight, and to think
I would use to play along and say, “Oh it must be so grand!”

You said you grew up in a difficult home without any friends—
I didn’t know “difficult” meant a silver spoon in your hand.
Now I’m not saying you can’t face hardship in riches,
But look up “privilege” and maybe you’ll come to understand.

I know there’s no point since you’re long gone by now—
But I talked to your old flame and I have to admit,
That we laughed like crazy when talking about you,
And all your white lies, empty promises, and bull.

Oh, master of making excuses—
What excuse do you have for me now?
I have to admit I’m getting tired
Of dealing with a man of a clown.

#2
Gunpowder

Would you take my hand?
Could you give me a chance?
Can you treat me like I’m the love of your life
Even when I know I’m just an option to you?
I can feel your love passing by like a train
With no brakes rushing through a station.
||Sweeping past my skin like a near-miss stray bullet,
Sparking up a gunpowder explosion as it grazes me.||

#3
Chrysanthemum

It’s been 2 years or so since we last talked;
I still remember it was Christmas back then,
And you were on a train to visit your family
A few hours away on the outskirts of Tokyo.

We were 17 when we first met in summer,
But it wasn’t under the best circumstances.
You were like a golden chrysanthemum,
Blooming in the early autumn sun and breeze.

We shouldn’t have tried— you know how we were
Only leaning on each other to soothe our loneliness.
I’m sorry. I should’ve known better than to try;
I should’ve kept you in the garden I found you in.

I was a fool to think that I could
Pluck you from the ground you grew in.
I tried to grow you in a pot on my windowsill,
But it wasn’t enough; it never was to begin with.

#4
Dandelions

I could’ve had a garden
Full of all the flowers I could’ve wanted,
But instead, I’ve let you overgrow your welcome—
And because I never tried to take care of me,
You keep growing back like dandelions.

But even when everything is said and done,
I’m still glad to have cherished your presence
Whenever spring decides to finally come—
But now you’ve overstayed your welcome,
So it’s time I clear you out of my mind with cold iron.

#5
Houston, Texas

You were born and raised in Southern Cali
But you always hated the culture,
So you said you wanted to move
To Houston, Texas when you could.
When you left in the dead of night
Running away from your demons,
I kept calling you for days on end,
And you ignored me every time.
So when you called me late one night
Saying that you felt alone in this world—
I should confess that I wasn’t asleep;
I ignored your call the second time.
And now you’re moving back into town
Acting like nothing ever changed
Asking me out to the cafe you used to work at—
But it’s too late for us now.
I pulled out all the dandelions
That grew after you left
And traded them in for yellow dahlias
And sunflowers.

#6
Barstow to San Bernardino

Let’s drive out in the dead of the night
Before the sweltering sun dawns on us.
The Mojave gets blisteringly hot during the day,
The dust devils are dancing, dwindling the dunes down.
Barstow is only an hour away from San Bernardino,
But it’ll feel like forever driving in the heat together
On your 2005 Harley Sportster.