Valentine’s Day Rejection Poetry Contest

This year we held a Valentine’s Day contest on our Instagram page at @nushjournalism. Students wrote and submitted poems about rejection, and we received 81 poems in all. Below are the first to third place winners, as well as the honorable mentions and other entries. Congratulations to all winners!

first place

Ernest Cheong
M20307

Star-crossed’s a good word-a pair but apart,
A fate in the stars too dense for my heart.
I looked up at the stars one day-and what did I see
But your moon-speckled gaze laughing at me.
Too young, too fool, too crazed to understand,
The weight of your heart in the palm of my hand.
But why not try for a chance-my heart ached for you,
And a fever-dreamed love and your love that was true.

As sky-touched wish from an infant child,
So my love for you was a love went wild.

second place

Martyn Tok
M20506

Have you heard of that one funny saying?
“Don’t let a poet catch feelings for you.”
Maybe it’s not common, well I’m guessing
Perhaps it means I’m worlds apart from you

Don’t let a poet catch feelings for you
They might just write eleven poems, all
Dedicated to you, they think of you
As the remote one they wanted to call

Maybe it’s not common, well I’m guessing
To get romanticised in lines, they trail
Imagining the one they miss missing
Lose themselves in fantasy, what is real?

Perhaps it means I’m worlds apart from you
Only way to transcend, when dreams come true

third place

John
M20303

As the dreadful day comes closer,
A distant memory stirs.
Of young lovers’ playful banter,
While he dreams of her.

His own special someone,
Someone to love him.
But before the day was done,
He knew his chances were grim.

For she was not just pretty,
Although, pretty, she was.
Her tongue was sharp and witty,
Any boy she wanted, was hers.

All along he had only
Admired her from afar.
But that day he decided
To wish on a shooting star.

“Will you be my girlfriend?”,
Flushed red, he finally asked.
But to his mounting horror,
At him, she only laughed.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you,”
She casually replied.
“But I’m not looking for commitment.”
Was when he knew, she had lied.

For the very next day he saw,
Her with another guy.
And then he finally realised,
That her beauty was just a lie.

Witchcraft conjured up by his mind,
He thought as he sat alone
To fulfil his greatest wish,
Of not always being on his own.

But this time he knew,
That all the past was gone.
For he had received a confession from her,
The cause, from whom his pain was borne.

As his cogs began to spin,
He thought of a wonderful plan.
To make her truly feel his pain,
And never rule his heart again.

A rejection it shall be!
He gleefully declared.
Revenge never felt as sweet
Than when it was well and truly fair.

And when he delivered his final blow,
He stood back and admired his work.
For he had finally managed to
Pay her back for all his hurt.

Still and unmoving,
Sat his piece of art
Carved from the flesh of
Her cold and unbeating heart.

Slowly, he began to smile,
For he had made her better.
Out of her lying, deceitful blood,
He had written her final rejection letter.

honorable mentions

Amith Reddy
M20606

She say “no”
I say “bro”

“Please give chance”
She didn’t change stance

“I have gift”
Her rejection was swift

“How ’bout a kiss”
She gave it a miss

I begged and cried
She still denied

“Be my bae”
“No, I’m gay”

I say “please stay”
Her reply, “no way”

.
.
.

She said “bro”
I said “no”

anonymous

Why am I even submitting aught for this?
Rejection – the possible result
of an attempt that wasn’t even made.
Just chats at the divided canteen tables
at hours odd and mealtimes inconvenient.
Only to be interrupted by
timely school bells five seconds long
– a clarion call to hot and humid classrooms.

Leng Kane Kiat
M20201

I once asked out a girl on a date
I thought it was all down to fate
The moment I said it she went to hate
ranting and chanting about how much I ate

Khoo Kai Wen
M20202

Hope, tumbling into the abyss, nothingness
golden light, brutally snuffed, extinguished, gone
a single dismissal, a paper heart torn into two

how could it be so?

Lips, trembling, carving a brittle smile
heart, a frosted panel shattered
pain, agony, of anguish and despair

the heart is fickle

Shards, fragments of broken glass
dragon fire, to temper a forge
sand, hard and unforgiving

moonlight shining on shattered glass

Steel, sharp and gleaming
screams, music to soothe the fiery crests of hate
blood on rose thorns

and the line between love and hate can be so thin.

anonymous
M20406

Sometimes I think I’m losing track
Of the people who didn’t say “I like you” back
You probably know it, so I’ll just confess
I’ll show you my views, you’ve seen the rest

If you read this, which I guess you will
You know I’d eventually let it spill
You can reject me to your heart’s content
I’m not surprised if I get turned down again

I am, and may probably stay, alone
But during those times when I look at my phone
And read all the words you wrote on my screen
I realise how much you truly mean

Looking back, the one I wanted to find
Was right there beside me, I guess I’m just blind
You gave me tender when life was tough
It sounds stupid, but I think it might be love

If we’re friends, let’s be friends forever
If you’re falling, then we’ll fall together
Could you come by and talk whenever?
You make my time here a whole lot better

Jiang Yuzhe
M20401

Those days where your shadow lived in my mind
Piercing voices resonated my ear
Moments of your hair flowing in the wind
Charming smiles on your baby face to leer

A navigator, Polaris so near
Just like an irreplaceable helper
A fighter, brave and bold, nothing to fear
Where have you gone to? Sometimes I wonder

Hand in hand, we walked through a moonless night
Hugging and crying for our destined blights
Lying by the beach, gazing at twilight
I feel like a shy mouse, squeaking with frights

Come back, my dear, you are my golden cheese
Together, we conquer the seven seas

Ng Wei
M20503

The flowers burn my lungs and heart
But you don’t seem to care.
Pretty yellow daffodils
They seek to strip me bare,

My mind’s a haze
I can’t think straight
You make me feel like heaven’s
Gone and shut the door
Left me here to
Writhe in endless pain.

Pretty yellow daffodils
Staining red from blood,
Everyone but you can see
me drowning in their flood,

They bloom to fill the empty space
You opened in my heart,
But all that they can truly do
Is force me to depart.

The fear’s set in. Surgical lights
Blinding me, doctors reaching
Into me, tweezers prodding,
Searching, finding, grabbing, pulling,

Pretty yellow daffodil,
whose roots are now wrenched free
Burns under the blazing light
And saves me from its sea.

The flowers burn your lungs and heart
And you ask me to care,
Pretty yellow daffodils
They seek to strip you bare,

I used to drown in pretty petals
Coming up my throat.
Once upon a time, I would be
Finally afloat.

But too late. I can no longer care.

Minh
M20306

Valentine, a day like any other
It’s just me, my hand and my computer
Feeling bad, being dumped by her earlier
Swallow sadness, I type in “How to make hamburger”.

Aditi Athreya
M20202

A pure heart as satisfying as gold,
A mind so bright
It would never be mine, or so I was told
Try, try as I might

Yet my heart was rising,
Up and up as it thumped,
But that one “NO!”, so deriding,
Made it cascade in a useless lump

Drowning deep in the sea
Down into a never-ending abyss
Why didn’t I ever see
That I was clearly rubbish

My now estranged heart free-falling into a deep, dark chasm,
Like all the memories swimming in me
My body went through muscle spasms,
Agonising sorrow engulfed me

The sky shattered to shards,
The paper heart torn
Even with glue, tape or pitiful cards,
My lively heart, no one could restore

Paralysing and arduous rejection
Coupled with extreme melancholy
My mind now knew “Dejection”
It wasn’t very friendly

Hope was all lost,
The world crumbled too
Was there a cost
For what I was planning to do?

Heart shattered,
Eyes bloodshot
Nothing ever mattered
There was never a cost

All light in my life
Was gone in a flash
Bearing this strife
That bothered me like a rash

A flash of reflected light
With a sound, going “Clink!”
Brought it towards my hand clenched tight
I did not need time to think

A flash of silver, you probably know what,
A sickening burst of excruciating pain
A grotesque crimson transverse cut
On an emerald longitudinal vein

Natalie

I hope to live
without watching the sun rise
while sitting by as the little sprouts
grow into fruition.
Decorated with serendipitous feelings,
that my hands cannot hold;
without it spilling over and
flooding the floor.

I hope to live
without allowing my ventricles to fall
in beat, lest i get a cardiac arrest
because of someone
(ever since i met them in March
– or was it May?)
little veins that i will snip,
should they reach out for something more.
so that it will never yearn
and the heart will be at peace
better still

I hope to live
not falling in love at all
for it should be sufficient
to be a self-reliant selfish individual
except for certain friends and family
and perhaps my foes
but not a succulent hybrid plated plant that
i will also snip.

But instead,

I live
with all the vices i denounce
and i watch the sunset
while sprouts wind around my fingers.

all entries

Smelli
Alumni

To be one of the few women
Who have ever shown you care and concern
Reduced to a crush because of my gender
Is truly my misfortune

It’s not that
Girls only go for bad guys
But that you aren’t as nice of a guy
As you think you are

The idea of me
Is sweet, isn’t it?
Until you see my flaws the way I see yours
You should probably stick to 2D girls

I could never possibly
Be with a man
Who believes his emotional dependence
Is an act of true love

anonymous

you like me?
think again
i’m shit and
you only date for personal gain

Eliora

How dare you?
Are you not ashamed of yourself?
What have I done
To give you clue
That I did?
Been kind to you?
And what have you done
To give me clue
That you did?
Abused me?
Insulted me?
Disrespected me?
Dare you ask for my love?
You shall not have it
My sympathies
To the next
That catches your eye
If this is how you woo.

anonymous

Thank you for your words
But you see you are the worst

Out of all my suitors
You are
Indistintive
Not even a little bit intriguing
And have no insight into anything at all

All in all my dear FRIEND
You suck

Ernest
M20307

Roses are red
I get rejected
And then i feel
Very dejected

Yap Yuan Xi
M20307

There is love if we care
It’s inside your heart
Like an angel’s embrace, warm and safe
Be the light in the dark
With your gentle touch
Reach out to the world with your heart

Is anyone out there listening?
Does anyone out there who cares?
I’ll be the one I’ll be there
I’m here to listen till the end

I’ll feel your sorrow, your pain
Make you smile again
Dry your tears, ditch your fears and take my hand
We’ll shine a light in the sky
With our love so bright
There is love in this world if we care

Emily
M20606

do you have an ugly boyfriend? do you want one? no? … ok then

Ganesh
M20501

roses are red
violets are red
love is red
my face is red

Baddipadige Amith Reddy
M20606

Cool guys have broken your heart 💔
Hot guys have tore you apart 😭
I’m just room temperature🔥
So come take a venture,🚣🏿‍♂
Our love will be off the chart📈

Xin Yi
M20307

roses are red
violets are wilted
i got rejected
and now i feel tilted

Mayukh Das
M20306

Roses are red
Violets are blue
I can’t go to bed
Without you

Yap Zi Rou
M20606

you hot like fire 🔥
you object of desire 😏
you wrap my heart in wire ❤
approve my visa ✅

Xu Shuwei
M20607

春色满园催新雨
皎月秋风望瑾瑜
雨落红土折百木
桃花飘落归扈渎

Lutfir Rahman
M20606

Roses, now grey
Violet, screw you
I poured my heart out
Only to be left feeling blue
💙😭😭😭💙

Note: I don’t even know a Violet.

Amith Reddy
M20606

Top 10 worst Ex-girlfriends:
10. I
9.Can’t
8.Rank
8.Them
6.Because
5.That
4.Is
3.Just
2.Mean
1.YOU

anonymous

It does not matter
If you like me or not for
I’ll always love you

Joern
M20306

Roses are red
Violets are blue
You think i am ugly
And i agree with you

Zhu Yancun
M20105

Unrequited love

You might think that I’m not taken,
but love for me is more of a burden.
You might not know, but I’ve fallen in deep,
failing to leave her even though I’ve craved so.
Love is not what you think.
Behind the sweetness is tiring commitment.
Pointless loving is just a sugar-coated task.
You give it everything and get nothing back.
So, don’t be like me ‘cuz there’s no way back.
If you don’t know yet,
I’m taken.
Her name,
is Homework.

Keya
M20303

10 fingers tearing out my hair steeling myself to face you
Heart in my mouth, 9 words sit on my tongue
Spat them out and hoped that you’d catch them
i like you, will you go out with me
Out can’t take them back,
Scattered feelings on the floor like pieces of broken glass i can’t reverse

i’m sorry, i don’t feel the same way
8 words said gently, bruising my heart roughly
7 steps i retreat, apologies flying past my lips
Your pitiful gaze pushing me 6 feet under your feet

I lay alone in a dark garden, bloomed full of thorns from the pain
I desperately gasp for breath 5 times
Can’t come up for air, I drown in you again
Unable to escape the addictive bittersweet prison you put me in,
I remain chained up, being your hostage

4 tables i sit away from you, trying to stop looking at you to forget the pain i feel
Regretting laying myself open to you 3 days ago
Thought we could be 2 but you never came

My love taught me poetry, my pain taught me to write
I sing a song, a sad serenade, weaving my pain between delicate vowels
But the only 1 here with me is me so you won’t hear me

Jack Ang Sze Jie
M20205

Valentine is a big brain move
A day for kids to cry and buy tissue
But if you actually got a feeling that’s true
Kick the other out before it sue you

anonymous

sitting in the dark, all alone
I reach in, put my hand between
no one by my side
a precursor to an empty life
minutes spent squeezing
euphoria
and now it’s gone
my numbness faded
life sucks

anonymous

ROSES ARE RED
VIOLETS ARE BLUE
GRASS IS GREEN
IDK WHATS YELLOW

anonymous

3 friends there were
Him; and me with her
All was fine
‘Cos she was mine
Then one day
It went astray

A simple text-

And the very next day
On Valentine’s day
The rumours had spread
That for us, it was the end
And in front of me
Her hand in his…
How was I to know
That it’ll end up like this…

anonymous

i want no love
i want no life
i want no pain
i want to die

Wu Jia Qi
M20205

God don’t want to whine on valentines
That’s why he come down to commit crimes
Steal people’s heart, hear their cries
Crossing the line being perfect but not fine

anonymous

The sky is black,
And nights are cold.
Truth to be told,
I think you’re bold.

To tell me how you feel,
Though you won’t stand a chance.
Though you hope, against all odds,
I’ll give you a second glance.

Well that could be true,
If we were in another world.
If we had a second life,
Maybe I could try?

There’s no point thinking about this.
It’s either hit or miss.
Even if I think you’re bold,
My answer’s still no.

Parth Singhania
M20106

Roses are red,
Violets are blue, garbage is dumped and so are you

Roses are red,
Violets are blue
Venta black got a
Brighter future than you

Roses are red
Violets are blue
I would rather be single
Than be with a douchbag like you

Roses are red
Violets are blue
You think you are in a relationship
Well thats a lie too

Baddipadige Amith Reddy
M20606

THE HEN FLIES AWAY

The hen flies away
As the leaves in the wind sway
For it has no more to say

The rooster wails into the sky
as he watches the bird fly
For his hope has run dry

He had opened up his heart
and he had said his part
For he couldn’t stand to be apart

She had laughed at the word
had scoffed at what she heard
For she thought it was absurd

The rooster wailed in dismay
His world had just turned gray
For the hen had thrown him away

He now wails every morn
Her chuckle to his heart a thorn
For ages does he mourn

The hen flies away
As the leaves in the wind sway
For love was not favoured that day

Jho
M20306

I am a speck of dust in this school
A piece of rotting mould to you
My life is spent
You would kill me for a cent
I am nothing but a worthless fool

Shou Jiawen
M20506

What is this feeling?

Scanning a crowd for you,
and on the oh-so rare chance,
our eyes meet,
as if fate meant it to be.
I look away,
heart rate increasing,
face reddening.
Waiting for that response,
that’ll no longer come.

My heart hurts,
a beautiful pain.
Longing,
jealousy,
guilt,
happiness,
motivation,
embarrassment.
These feelings,
caused just by you.

It’s painful,
Impractical,
a distraction,
a “Useless fantasy”.

Time’s the best medicine,
they say.
Obsession should stop,
like the tears on my cheeks.
However,
time strengthens it.

I think.
It’s love.

Used to solitary lifestyle,
emotionally,
at least.
Yet,
The unparalleled happiness you brought,
irreplaceable,
always.

It’s been a while.
Memories,
I clung to them desperately,
all this time.
I am truly glad,
the colour still remains.
Cheese fries,
coke,
moon,
The orange painted sky,
if only that was the cause of my reddening face.

Bus stop,
The umbrella,
You extended towards me.
The red string I longed for,
your smile,
your laugh.
I’ll treasure them,
stubbornly,
no matter the costs.

I’ve drained enough of your kindness,
yet selfish desires,
hard to suppress,
really.

Day by day,
everything plays out in my head.
What if…
Maybe…
Why…
Regrets.

Thank you.
I am sorry.
I love you.

Malcolm Sow
M20404

Love your rose from afar,
the prick of thorns hurts more than
not holding her close.

Prannaya Gupta
M20307

Sometimes I’m stuck in an eternal abyss of crazy.
And sometimes I see the walls of these mirrors that
cover the eyes of my perception, everything just hazy.
But sometimes that light is need. But, I want that hat.

But in this case it isn’t fair, for what lies deep in the agony
is really what completes my sadness. For that person, who
looks in my wishful eyes and angrily say, “Not you, obviously”,
is the person who has kicked me in my guts, me saying OOH.

Obviously, I don’t know what I have done wrong, but I do really
know what she wants… is just not me. I guess it’s someone other,
the rejection was really sad. It killed me to know, but I seriously
know right now. That person was not raised as kind by her mother.

But I just wanted to know. Was there ever any chance for us? Could there have been?
I guess in the end I don’t know what really happened. Except that you don’t love me.

The following ten poems were written by Martyn Tok, M20506.

A sprinkle of artificial light,
How dashing, it is
And as I lose faith in that night
I wonder how much naivety it takes
To believe, to wonder, to miss
Those artificial lights
The emptiness they conceal
Shine so bright, they can’t reveal
the stars, the night, and still.

Staring out into your skies.
Ringing from perhaps (I hoped not) your voice
“Such a turn-off!

I cannot forget
Your back, shrinking silhouette
And all my regrets

These are the ways in which I make me cry

First I seek a face from within the crowd.
No particular qualifications,
Just someone lovely to obsess about
To catalyse an infatuation

Say, love is a chemical reaction
And that we are all but some reagents
I forget to balance the equation
Hence there’s quite a disproportionation

My emotions are unstable, they should
Be reactive enough right? I suppose
If anything is worth the try, they could
Bring some change into your life, I propose

These are the ways in which I make me cry
These are your walls, they’re telling me ‘goodbye’.

I did not choose love
Love chose me. I’m feeling it.
Then you chose not me.

I thought all actions
have an equal and opposite
reaction. I pushed.

Noticed your replies
Were only to my last text
Overlook? reject?

This is the colour
You left in my life with two
ticks. Double blueticks.

To describe my face
With just the first alphabet
That begins each line

Would be hilarious
If this poem, just like me
gets rejected lol

Fake it till you make it,
Coolness and confidence
Seesaw of ambivalence, a trick

My ego is a mirror reflecting
Your apathy, because only then are we equal
You, not an idol I worship
Me, not a desperate attention seeker

I don’t want to waste your precious time anyways

If I could just keep telling myself
That I don’t care
The less I think, the less I’d sink

Then I proceed to cast the net of blame at you
In an attempt to discard my regards,
To disregard my feelings

It’s not me, it’s just that you were too attractive

I am just a victim of a spell
Or some biological potion of pubertal hormones
Running too high in our every contact

Until one day I can accept that
You’re just a regular person
Speaking your personal opinion

No, it’s just that the relationship right now between you and I sounds like a bad idea

Feels better that it no longer is
a condemnation
Of my value as a human being

From there I nudge myself
to keep on keeping on
At my own life

So that when we next say hi, I won’t trip on my nerves no more

Vishal Mohanty
M20503

Till death do us part
Our vows are a lie
For you still exist in my heart
But your love transcends the sky

krittika
M20206

labadi dabadi do
i fell in love with you
i wanted to propose
but you stepped on my rose
now I’m done with you

Tan Ye Kai
M20407

Roses are red
Violets are blue
I’m not getting either for valentine’s day

anonymous

It was time to say goodbye.
But if she was happy, then so was I.
Even while she found another,
I still remained, the girl who loved her.

The following three poems were written by Yen Jun Hung, M20503.

You could break my heart,
Rip it in half,
And I’d still love you.
You could bend my mind,
Break my will,
And I’d still love you.
You could cut me up,
Bleed me dry,
And I’d still love you.
Yet you threw me aside,
Cast me out of your mind,
And yet still I love you.

Flower bloomed within my heart,
Petals coughed up with my own blood,
A deep red bled to a faded yellow.
An emotion so strong, that it took me under.
All of my mind, my thoughts, my soul,
Thrash, in unspeakable agony.
In the knowledge, that I will never know
What it would be like,
Or how it would feel like,
To be the one, whom you call your own.

For the longest time, I saw you,
Lost, deep in despair.
It pained me to see you so hurt.
And so, I tried.
Day by day, week by week, month by month.
I worked with you,
Comforted you,
Guided you through the sadness and anger.
Soon, you stopped hurting,
And finally, I could see you smile,
And when you did, the world lit up.
I felt it.

Now, it seems it would be my turn.
As stars fell around me, the chains gripping my mind tightened.
Deep in pain, the meaning in life quickly fled me.
And so, as I struggled to stay afloat,
I screamed your name.
Louder and louder, again and again.
Hoping for you to save me, just as I did for you.
But no one came.

Joel Tian
M20203

wilted petals, descended
time, at a standstill
exchanged words, a torn expression
a feet apart, felt like a canyon.
glimmering, glimmering, fall.
lochs cascading,
flowing with immeasurable depth.
but time continues,
flowing like those lochs,
into the inevitable ocean.
a glimpse,
a glance,
noticing, sighting,
the allure with the contempt.
the hated, perched precariously with the once glamoured.
tsunamis rise given the right conditions,
here, the perfect storm brewing within him.
thrashing and thrashing were the forces,
spinning him into an uncontrollable fury.
a shining brandish,
a quick swift strike,
off with the cranium,
of the poor, deranged doll.
of the one that stole the focus of the desired.
its beady eyes,
lifeless and cold, hinted with some angst
crimson ran,
gurgling imminent,
a soft, silent cry,
the crashing waves devouring the foolish human,
uncontrollable and overpowering.
his eyes,
empty and hollow,
with spite and despise.
“Clang” was all that was heard,
in a shower of thorny roses,
and a pool of regret and hate.

anonymous

Roses are red,
Violets are blue.
I’m really sorry but,
I don’t like you.

Shusmoy Roy Chowdhury
M20202

All those I times I looked for you
I searched high and low all over the place
Was I too desperate
Or was I wishing for you

You made my heart go round
You made it pound
But in the end you stomped on it
You didn’t understand what you did
But a man’s dreams were crushed

We may not have the same wishes
We may not be the same
I don’t know many things
But I know your the one for me

If only you gave me a chance
It would have been my time to shine
All I wanted was some love from you
I didn’t even ask for much

We could have been perfect
But I guess we will never know
You can still call me you know
Cause my heart still goes OOPS

Lim Yi Ann
M20605

You are my fire
The one desire
Believe
When I say
You are my best friend

TELL YOU WHY
you are such a nice guy
TELL YOU WHY
you support me when I’m sad
TELL YOU WHY
I love our friendship

And
I want it that way

Mithra Anandan
M20203

Roses are red
Violets are blue
Rejection is hard
But I love you

Your heart can ache
And be sad for a year
But never fear
For my love is here

You can cry all you want
But just remember
When you do
You’ll have my shoulder

You can brave all the stormy seas
And steer the ship as you please
But remember
I’m always your matey

The following two poems were written by Shae, M20401.

roses are red
violets are blue
give me the whale NOW
or I will complain to your manager

you confess to me
but I reject you
like the meteor that killed
the dinosaurs

Reuben Ong
M20507

Everyone has found their star and here I am
Roaming around the darkness
And then
A potential star lurks by
And I slowly get pulled into it
And spiral even deeper into the gravity well
Only to get kicked out from it
One seems so near yet so out of reach
Roaming around in more and more of emptiness
And there she is, a sparkling gem in the eternal space
Knowing very well I will have no hope of getting back
My soul hollows out with every passing second
And I feel so cold and lonely and meaningless

Isaiah
M20507

There once was a girl I adored
Who was a ten, a perfect score.
I confessed to her, she screamed;
Violently repulsed, she had seemed
Because I wasn’t 6’4”.

Minh
M20306

Wow, it is I, a casual humanbeing
Just spending my time with some homework-doing
Suddenly, a girl came to me, asking:
“Will you meet me by this tree this evening?”

“Yes, i will” is all I’m saying
After this, I still have to practice singing
But I can let that slide for the time being
Since today is Valentine’s day, out of all things!

School has ended, the bells start ringing
As promised, I arrive by the tree, thinking
“Someone sure has a beutiful female offspring”
When I notice she came before me, just standing.

As I came, she hands me this M&M and starts talking:
“If I am a queen, would you be my king?”
I speak, trying to supress my feelings:
“Thank you, but diabetes is a thing”.

Tanush Sharma
M20205

I didn’t lie to you
I said what I wanted to
But you never agreed,
You just had to reject me like
everyone else did too
Learn from all their mistakes
let me be with you
This Valentine’s day
Please agree to me
We can start something anew

Who knew,
After all the things
We’d been through,
I’d be right here,
Crying cause of you
I drowned myself
In misery
My own mistake
Destroyed me

I didn’t want to but
I was hit by Cupid’s dart
Can’t you please break my head
And not my heart

Trinh Hieu Thy
M20101

Well, I
Ought to
Reject you with
‘Sorry’s and
Terrible excuses.

Reducing you to tears, with
Every mean
Jeer, and
Endlessly treating you with
Callous disdain.
That
Indeed, would be
Of an extremely
Treacherous type of fun.

Perhaps, instead, I’ll
Opt to
Extend just a little
More kindness, and begin

Edging off the
Vile path of
Excitably evil rejection.
Regrettable decision, though.

The following two poems were written by Natalie.

Sometimes I would try to recall
monochromatic memories
like pretty pieces of a
future I would never hold.
Perhaps I could try to hold you
instead of poetry about pottery.
but I didn’t and slowly
like a snail that slithers out of its shell
becoming a slug on the road I forgot
you too, shall forget and forget and forget
until one day that you don’t remember to forget anymore
and somehow forced to remember instead.

If you pile up enough lies, they’ll become the truth
but there’s this lie that i have, that i can’t tell.
In this day where the straightforward falls short
I have to take a step to catch that
hard-to-reach tree
I have to keep up an act without blowing it up
it’s so dangerous, living on the lines of
someone else.
lying with your looks, pretending to be interested
I don’t think i’m the only coward.

So today I told myself
that maybe if i write enough, you’ll know
or that if I don’t, i’ll forget sooner.
and then maybe I will not groom this potted plant or bite the dust anymore,
that I will find a bush,
bushes are more common, not as pretty, not like you
but they are easier to maintain, and there are many to pick from
and I don’t have to spend every minute worrying about leaves out of place

maybe I will go find a bush
and leave you, the
cowardly tree with court shoes.

If i tell enough lies, they’ll become the truth.

Shevonne
M20401

a moment binds you, lost and still,
as helplessly you stand;
frustration finds you, soft but shrill,
with offerings in your hand.
bouquet rejected, red and blue,
untouched on empty trails–
one rose dejected, left for you:

“a private test case fails”

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