Here are a few poems by Diana Rodriguez, senior at Mount St. Mary’s University in Los Angeles. I hear whispers of Plath in her lines.
Poem 1
You gave up.
And they asked why, buttercup?
Perhaps it was because they asked too much of you
or perhaps it was because of that snake of a man
who pretended to love, with all his heart.
Who tore you apart.
He held you… felt you
He treated you like an ashtray,
pushing those you loved at bay
and giving you that cliché,
‘I’m doing what’s best for you.’
You ate that bullshit like a stew.
He would have hurled you into oblivion.
Somehow you managed to grow
a pair of wings and tell him ‘no’
Somehow you knew,
that you were through.
Poem 2
I told the moon about you
Through the foggy dew
Still, her light drew
Closer and closer, giving me a clue
That you should forever be with me, like a tattoo
You may fumble
But all the bright stars tumble
You should be humble
Don’t let yourself crumble.
Have you told the sun about me?
The one of three
That hurt her knee
when she tried to see
on a six-foot tree.
The one who once drowned, under the sea.
Because she wanted to be free.
For all she could see was the banshee.
Then I found you, Bailee.
The planets share mutual disgusts.
About us,
they discuss,
and make a fuss.
Only we can reach the sublime.
Only we make chaos rhyme.
Poem 3
Shall I share a secret to my past self?
Pretty soon, you’ll be taken off the shelf.
You will no longer look in the mirror
To feel disgusted at your own figure.
You will no longer wish to press that blade
Against your skin and pray the scars will fade.
What happened… that wasn’t your fault at all.
You will be stronger and won’t feel so small.
You will have people who care about you.
You won’t ever think you’re in a zoo.
You will finally be able to say
‘I love myself, in every single way.’