Writing to commiserate
about what everyone has been through
is a tired way to get recognized.
Every teenage girl understands the pieces
about love gone wrong,
so they fawn over it.
The new. The odd. The unrelatable.
These are what matter more.
Flip the script. Better yet, shred it.
Write about something braver.
Tell of the violence between your ears.
Tell of the battles that have made you.
Inspire questions you never intend to answer.
If nobody can relate, good.
There is power and mystery
and tremendous loneliness
in being misunderstood.
Putting pen to paper has always been
the microphone of the weird and righteous.
A writer’s duty is not to receive accolades,
but to proclaim their individuality on the page.
Forget what words will please them;
write to save us from clichés.