This short collection aims to depict the complex emotional turmoil that is the mother-daughter relationship. Based lightly around my own experiences, these three pieces paint an image of intense love interlaced with hate, misunderstanding, and the idea of codependency.

My drive to write poetry comes and goes in waves.

Some of my artwork reflects my own personal experiences and others are inspired by instances that have occurred. I find it easiest to write when it is authentic because I know exactly how I want to describe it due to it already happening to me.

I wanted to convey the difference between always living in the moment and always living in the future: one may not be better than the other. With the bustling city as the background, I aimed to create a sense that the two characters are isolated together.

My poetry is often based on my experiences in life and issues that I'm passionate about changing in the world, such as gender inequality and body image issues. Poetry allows me to express my feelings and opinions in a creative way that's unlike anything else.

Writing poetry consists of a lot of thinking, whereas the actual process of putting words down onto a page feels much more liminal and never quite occurs in a linear fashion.

My ninth book—the one I'm currently writing—is about war. When I began the research process, I turned to the WWI era for inspiration, and I instantly fell down a digital rabbit hole of historical articles, documentaries, and personal stories written from the trenches.

These poems are reflections of my life. My process is fairly simple I write my emotions and experiences in verse. I like to think of my art as an intense color pallet with stark differences to each piece.

While writing I combine things I know and have experienced along with elements of fiction, things that have never happened to me, and things I am unfamiliar with.

I get ideas from internal monologues that I have with myself spontaneously.

“How it Feels to Die,” is a short story based on the struggles of mental health. The sudden breaks in the story indicate how disease can morph and shift, especially when it is not physical.

This poem uses symbolism to represent true friendship. It shows that a person shouldn't try to fit in with a group of people, instead they should find people they can be themselves around.

My submission consists of three seperate poems---each having a unique theme but similar tone.

Through my poem, I explored the deeper meaning of the English language and reflected on my personal experiences through an artistic and emotional spectrum.

I wrote Mother of Two recently for a microfiction project in my creative writing class. It received very positive feedback and now that we are doing this contest I wanted to submit it.

My work aims to tease beauty out of the trivial: I feature topics such as rain, simple family interactions, and food. With these portrayals, I hope to encourage readers to slow down and take time to appreciate the beauty in everyday life.

My vignette is based off of Sandra Cisneros's style in her book The House on Mango Street. It talks about my narrator's experience of growing up around bullying.

Growing up, my family often told me stories of their childhood. They would tell stories of struggle against the policies at the time, having to give up all their possessions.