Submit your work, meet writers and drop the ads. Become a member
 
Aug 2013 · 611
Exscind.
brooke Aug 2013
I'll be blunt;

I'm quartering myself
down to the bare minimum
because I see these pretty girls
everywhere and I tell myself
he'd fall for them, easy. I am
having trouble finding what
anyone could possibly see
in me. My countenance is
quicksand, don't struggle.
(c) Brooke Otto
Aug 2013 · 378
I Do Love You.
brooke Aug 2013
you said so many times
that you would love me
for the rest of your life
and only now do I
realize you may
have understood
that love isn't
confined to
a relationship
it just lasts.
(c) Brooke Otto

This realization was sudden and very painful.
Aug 2013 · 296
Part 2.
brooke Aug 2013
Because despite
everything love
is resolute.
(c) Brooke Otto
Aug 2013 · 457
Before You Left.
brooke Aug 2013
before you left, we
sat in my car for a
few seconds, I should
have kept you there
a while longer so that
i would remember
more. And before
you left, it was cold
and the wind wasn't
paying us an ounce
of respect, I said, "we'll
probably never see each
other again" and I kissed
you while rubbing your
cheeks with my thumbs.
there was turmoil in my
heart but I wouldn't let
it leave my mouth. Yes,
I am reminiscing, I can
still see your face in my
rear-view mirror and I
wonder now if the love
I have for you will ever
dissipate.
(c) Brooke Otto

Part 2.
Aug 2013 · 859
Cayenne Heart.
brooke Aug 2013
I always relented when
you tried to put cayenne
pepper in the dishes you
made for me. Spicy things
open up the taste-buds
you
lectured. And no matter how
much I'd poke your shoulders
you always managed to put
a pinch in. I claimed to hate it.

This morning I poured hot salsa
onto my breakfast and ate it without a

problem.
(c) Brooke Otto
Aug 2013 · 1.3k
Add Water, Then Microwave.
brooke Aug 2013
the difference between the way
i cooked and the way you cooked
is that you would get everything
ready first and I would pull things
from the fridge as I went, you made
everything from scratch but the one
thing I taught you was how to make
perfect kraft macaroni
(c) Brooke Otto
Aug 2013 · 403
Teriyaki.
brooke Aug 2013
you whistled
when you
ate
(c) Brooke Otto

subtle things.
Aug 2013 · 1.7k
I do not know how to love.
brooke Aug 2013
My first love was not a first love
because the first thing he was interested in
was being around me with his shirt off so
I could admire how toned he was for a
freshman.

He chose my best friend over me first
and I let him in anyway, he called me a
**** fiend and I took that as a compliment
even though i had no idea what I was doing.

He told me, Brooke, when people love each other
they have ***, and I knew that part of that was true
that I wanted to equate love with making love because
why else would it be called that? But he wasn't my first love
and the first thing he was interested in was eating me out.

Fifteen year olds are too dumb to make any rational decisions
when they have overbearing honey-tongued devils in their lives.
I was so scared but I did want to, so he planned it out and he had
me on bare mattress in his room in broad daylight, no sheets, no blankets
and my socks were still on, I wasn't even sweaty and my hair stayed perfect.
He wasn't my first love because the first thing he thought of was grabbing my
breast under the elementary school awning.

We had no ****, no privacy, no rules. And I gave it to him willingly even though
I was paralyzed right down to my toenails, a cold highway of veins in my jar of
jelly muscle, the mornings were hot and every time he laid on me I felt like a
shower was the only cure to feeling this *****, should I FEEL this d i r t y?

My morals were rupturing like aneurisms, and everyone thought it was
so ridiculous that I was breaking down under their sunlight, burning up
under their words? It shouldn't matter, this much, brooke. It SHOULD NOT
matter this much. His dad, drove me to the jiu jitsu tournament and told me
he didn't understand why my dad thought it was so necessary to keep me
safe why he shouldn't be buying his son condoms because this is
what
teenagers
do.

My incessant nagging drove him away and I have thought this to be my
fault. This was not my fault.  

My second love may have been my first love.
because the first thing he was interested in was waiting
till our friendship bloomed and then I could come over to his house.

He didn't write off his feelings for me when I said I needed time. And maybe
he did go back to his ex, but I needed time and he gave me time. I wasn't sure
if I loved him but I kissed him and the first time he touched me he told me
to ask him to, to make sure it was okay.

I remember what I was wearing, acid wash shorts and a tanktop
that apparently saved darfur.  His breath was warm and the evening was dim
but his desk-light shone over our legs and his worn skinny jeans.

He told me, Brooke, all I want to do is make you breakfast. And I read
that in his diary. And my second love was my first love because the first
thing he wanted to do was draw me while I slept. He did.

Seventeen year olds are swept away easily and refuse to work
on old feelings. They are damaged because of their first loves who
weren't first loves and are afraid to let go because there will never
be anyone better than this.  My second love was my first
love because he never held *** over my head like a trophy
and we rolled over each other in the sheets and my parents
were never worried.

We had no ****, we had privacy, we had rules. I was not scared
after I realized there were no threats. I thawed and was sweet like
a ripe strawberry. He said he loved me and I felt clean, sweaty but
there was no need for a shower, my hair was always frizzy and he
laughed about it.

my morals were tall mortar walls. And I told him there were rules
for wanting to be with me, and my walls loomed over him. He tried and promised
but we were both fools.  I made mistakes twice over and took advantage of his love.

my incessant nagging, indecision, and rudeness drove him away. This was my fault.
This was all of our faults.
(c) Brooke Otto

This is so cliche it hurts.   I've been increasingly inspired by slam poetry. I actually don't like long poems, but the idea of reading it out loud is why I wanted to give it a try.  Sorry if there are any typos.
Aug 2013 · 535
Blood on shoulders.
brooke Aug 2013
your parents
gave up too
early, right
when you
needed them
the most
and only
I saw it
(c) Brooke Otto
Aug 2013 · 1.1k
duck, duck, brooke.
brooke Aug 2013
You spent nearly a year
toiling over my love and
I was cooking an omelet
down in the kitchen just
now when the coconut
oil reached up and bit
my hand, when I realized
that maybe it was my turn
maybe it is my turn. I am
not quite so sure what It is that
I
deserve.
(c) Brooke Otto
Aug 2013 · 263
Is This What You Want?
brooke Aug 2013
you can find me
tearing off my shirt
and screaming

*is this what you want?
(c) Brooke Otto
Aug 2013 · 414
Harridan.
brooke Aug 2013
i told the person I loved
the most not to read my
poetry, but I have given
this link to two other people
and they never bothered to
read any of it.

what does that say
about me?
(c) Brooke Otto
Aug 2013 · 315
The things I did with You.
brooke Aug 2013
I drew today
and each line
didn't hurt as
much as I
thought or
maybe each
line hurt less
and
less
(c) Brooke Otto
Aug 2013 · 709
A little lie.
brooke Aug 2013
i downplay myself
because I'm afraid
thinking that I'm anything
good will mean that I
am
not.
(c) Brooke Otto
Aug 2013 · 292
Untitled
brooke Aug 2013
I will write you
down until there
is nothing left to
write.
(c) Brooke Otto
Aug 2013 · 467
You knew about parts of me.
brooke Aug 2013
I remember we once
watched a lifetime movie
and someone slept with
someone, but it wasn't
the right person, (it was
dark) (and unrealistic)
I asked you how you
would be able to tell
it was me in a dark room
and you thought for a
moment and then said

well I'd look for the scar on your
back


and I was confused because there
was no scar on my back. But you
pulled my hand and placed it there
and there it was. No wider than a
dime.

And you smiled again and said
that's how you'd know it was me.
(c) Brooke Otto

that I didn't know myself.
Aug 2013 · 819
Hail.
brooke Aug 2013
I wish I were
the red dirt
outside my
window who
takes the rain
in stride and
drinks heartily.
(c) Brooke Otto
Aug 2013 · 827
To the kid in Walmart.
brooke Aug 2013
I'm sorry your mom is
such a raging *****, I
know that picking
ice-cream is hard and
I would have given
you all the time in
the world. So don't
cry, don't cry, don't cry
because if your own
mother doesn't love you
then
I
will.
(c) Brooke Otto
Aug 2013 · 366
What is me.
brooke Aug 2013
i loved what you did
and you what I, but
now i can't separate
the two.
(c) Brooke Otto
Aug 2013 · 1.0k
rope.
brooke Aug 2013
my heart
toils at
night.
(c) Brooke Otto
Aug 2013 · 497
bad.
brooke Aug 2013
I had a dream last night
that you refused to talk
to me, and you stared
angrily at walls, burning
holes through bricks. You
walked straight into me and
your bitterness was a bulldozer
that i couldn't stop, couldn't
read the words ironed on
your shirt. So I started to
cry, tried your name on
my tongue but you wouldn't
hear me anymore. And at the
end i gave myself to you and
you pushed me off and walked
away, seething,

*that's what you get
(c) Brooke Otto


left me with a really bad feeling.
Aug 2013 · 374
I said;
brooke Aug 2013
I am a broken boat
and you said,

*well, I like broken
boats
(c) Brooke Otto
Aug 2013 · 401
I asked;
brooke Aug 2013
Chris, why do wounds itch
when they're healing? and
you were in the middle of
something, drawing or playing
a game, and you kind of
looked at me sideways
and did that thing with
your lips.

Well what do you expect?
It has new skin  
growing over it.


and you must have went
back to what you were doing
because I thought it all to be very
prophetic somehow.
(c) Brooke Otto
Aug 2013 · 4.5k
Protein Thoughts.
brooke Aug 2013
I'm not sure time
heals everything,
but eventually after
we have thought about
it so  much, it becomes
routine and routines
are easier and easier
the more that you
do
them.
(c) Brooke Otto
Aug 2013 · 392
Sleep pretty.
brooke Aug 2013
I said, "I hate how I open-mouth
breathe when I sleep, pretty girls
sleep with mouths closed." and
you replied that the way I slept
melted you down to your core.
(c) Brooke Otto
Aug 2013 · 401
Unconditional.
brooke Aug 2013
In October you
made me soup
after I said I
hated you.
(c) Brooke Otto
Aug 2013 · 489
For the Books.
brooke Aug 2013
You told me  
the things that
comfort you
are when your
dad brushes his
teeth in the doorway
or scratches his back
on the door post. A
simple hug for your
mom or sister, and
yes, about me?
Playing with
your hands.

I am only
trying to
write you
down.
(c) Brooke Otto
Aug 2013 · 1.6k
Watercolor Clouds.
brooke Aug 2013
I like the way my
wine dress billows
and the clouds that
look like watercolor
paint. I like the way
my toes spread out,
these are just a few
things I wish I could
tell you about.
(c) Brooke Otto
Aug 2013 · 368
Things Get In The Way.
brooke Aug 2013
how do we fall out of love?
as if love were a thing to
fall out of, you can't. For
being always kind, always
faithful, then what? If love
is kind and always faithful
then where in that same
sentence do I fall out? There
is no falling out, only things
that get in the way.  How
do you fall out of love, or
is it always there even after
you say it's not? Although,
I've never said It's not.
I never said it wasn't.
(c) Brooke Otto
Aug 2013 · 1.2k
Quiet.
brooke Aug 2013
I've always been nervous
not loud enough to say how I really
feel about this or that. OCD about strange
things like sugar packets and cups on the table
and gradients of tea. I could stand up for other
people but never for me. Always been quiet about
the things that matter and the things tattooed on
my heart like that bird on your arm.  The things that
speak to me in the middle of the night like knocks on a
door, Knock, Knock.  Wake up at three am because God
is yelling at me, but I can't tell any of YOU that because
of the bitterness locked in your chest and there's bitterness
locked in mine. For all this anxiety that I feel up in front of
this crowd, You all make me want to not say things out loud
Because as much as any one of you say you accept all things
you have never once accepted me. And I'm slapping pavement
with bare hands in the middle of the night, red callouses from
holding on too tight, begging for a way in when I'm only ever
gonna be left out because you've water-hosed me from your bathroom
tile like old chunks of grout. I've always been too nervous to say how
I really feel, because my God scares people away.

So here I am too afraid to look off this piece of paper because my voice has never been
above a whisper, and I'm too afraid to see any of you up close and personal,
a shake that no public speaking class could ever fix, because these tremors
are more like heart quakes, and all your demons are hitting my st-stutter
buttons, who ever said you weren't terrifying was a freaking liar

you
are.
(c) Brooke Otto

really need to do some slam poetry soon.
Aug 2013 · 268
Untitled
brooke Aug 2013
i suppose that is the end of that.
(c) Brooke Otto

I love you.
Aug 2013 · 311
Please you.
brooke Aug 2013
gotta stop trying
to win your heart
even though you're

gone.
(c) Brooke Otto

yeah.
Aug 2013 · 1.9k
The Scientist.
brooke Aug 2013
coldplay reminds
me of your hands
ridged deep like
a cat tongue but
unnaturally smooth
at the same time.
And hooded lids,
that I liked to
draw, eyebrows
to rub and
stipple my
pinky with your
eyelashes.
(c) Brooke Otto
Aug 2013 · 632
Bully.
brooke Aug 2013
Saw a picture of
you today and
you still inflict
terror into the
heart of that
fifth grade
girl that
still lives
inside me,

Sierra.

and to this
day I still feel
that I need to
prove to you
that I wasn't
so
unworthy?
or so small
a cat
a mouse
a flea
stuck under your
pointer finger.
(c) Brooke Otto

Funny how people wreak havoc even after they're gone.
Aug 2013 · 482
Hey, Listen!
brooke Aug 2013
remember when i
taped a hundred
pink streamers to
your ceiling? A giant
craft store heart
dangling from the
middle and when
your mom asked

when are you gonna take that down?

you smiled and asked
why you'd ever need to.
(c) Brooke Otto
Aug 2013 · 853
God-fearing.
brooke Aug 2013
He was like the thunder
8 miles, 7 miles, 9 miles,
suddenly, three. Suddenly
gone. Suddenly,
rain, suddenly
none.
(c) Brooke Otto
Aug 2013 · 757
Dear Chaz,
brooke Aug 2013
Sometimes I still get a little
nervous when i see pictures
of you, and i assume there
are still angry bits hidden
out there but i haven't
thought about you in
a while, haven't cried
about you in a while
haven't done much
about you in a while
and you know what?
I think there is a such
thing as getting over
your first love because
I
got
over

you.
(c) Brooke Otto
Aug 2013 · 549
Moving Castle.
brooke Aug 2013
why does it hurt so
much to be the main
character of my own
story, I once was in
yours and while
hardly static,
I couldn't
seem to
remain
there
(c) Brooke Otto
Aug 2013 · 896
Jet Plane.
brooke Aug 2013
I can only hope that
the words I say now
will not offend you in
that I was not capable
of thinking them then,
in the days that I grew
with you. But I am
thinking them now
and living them now
and I am growing oh
so much and I hope
you
are
too.
(c) Brooke Otto
Aug 2013 · 630
Sweet Boy.
brooke Aug 2013
something about those
first sugar cookies that
you made me said a lot
about your heart
(c) Brooke Otto
Aug 2013 · 548
Before I forget.
brooke Aug 2013
Before I forget:
the pictures up
the stairs in your
old house and
a littler you in
a baseball jersey
"I was never good
at sports"
Me neither
did I really walk
that short little hallway
that many times

oh,there you are
downstairs on the
piano

plink plink
plink
(c) Brooke Otto
Aug 2013 · 292
Self.
brooke Aug 2013
Feeling beautiful
without the words
of another is perhaps
the hardest.
(c) Brooke Otto
Aug 2013 · 1.2k
Wheat stalk Vs. Grass Blade
brooke Aug 2013
My worst fear to
be traded for fair
for pixie hair, for
long bony fingers
and an affinity for
paint being smeared
on jeans. I am

none

of
those
things.
(c) Brooke Otto

Let my brain get the best of me.
Aug 2013 · 771
"I want to be special."
brooke Aug 2013
lovers have all found their
ways to see the special hues
in your hair, so yes, while
a lot of us may be the same
in many aspects,
love rarely sees
the similarities
(c) Brooke Otto
Aug 2013 · 557
Soft Bed.
brooke Aug 2013
I spent years trying to be
one of the boys because i
couldn't be one of the girls
that boys like or girls liked

so now I've learned to be
whatever boys like, whatever
men like I'm not sure. so I search
for those perfect traits that align
with mine and they're never in
the same place, all in different
bodies.  And however petty
it may seem, i'm worried

that no one else will ever like
me for me.
(c) Brooke Otto
Aug 2013 · 468
If hope were
brooke Aug 2013
tangible it would
be an autumn leaf
blown out of the street
yet to travel another
day. Because the
wind, so kind,
just happens
to care.
(c) Brooke Otto
Aug 2013 · 1.3k
Rimmed Glasses.
brooke Aug 2013
i found an old picture
of you on a forgotten
camera, how we never
cease to remember the
sweet things.
(c) Brooke Otto
Jul 2013 · 569
It's okay, Brooke.
brooke Jul 2013
lightening out, a thin
blue flash and I can
feel your arm around
my shoulder and your
kiss on my forehead.
It's true I try to forget
but you still permeate
my scenarios with each
rumble, it's true

it's true
it's true.
(c) Brooke Otto
Jul 2013 · 535
newsflash.
brooke Jul 2013
heart flare,
wind burn
when I hear
about Albuquerque
(c) Brooke Otto
Jul 2013 · 706
Ship Groan.
brooke Jul 2013
what was
the difference
between fighting
and having someone
to talk to? I knew at one
point but I left my heart
op                             en
hope
tried to reside between
the doors.
(c) Brooke Otto
Next page