Sisyphus' Highway, Labor Day, and A Romantic Kind of Fruit
Emilie M.
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My love and relationships inspired these three poems. “Sisyphus’ Highway” explores my feelings about the California Wildfires. As a younger California, the wildfires feel as much a part of my childhood as walking to school. The speaker in the poem navigates their helplessness with the destruction of the world around them and the strange nostalgia and attraction that they feel for the fire. In “Labor Day,” I discussed my evolving relationship with the women in my family as well as our intergenerational body dysmorphia and self-hatred. My intention for the poem is not to blame any of my family for our beliefs, but to recognize that we are all victims of the same culture of self-loathing and to hope for healing and forgiveness. “A Romantic Kind of Fruit” examines the consuming nature of infatuation. For the speaker, love is as destructive as it is beautiful. I used fruit, specifically, tangerines as a metaphor because I am interested in their communal, shareable qualities as well as their limited lifespans. I think that romance, young romance, in particular, is similar in that fact that it is sweet but expires quickly.
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Writing has transformed my world into a place of empathy. Starting in middle school, I began analyzing my surroundings for inspiration. Now, I constantly watch and notice. So much beauty and kindness goes unnoticed unless you actively search for it. Writing has taught me to be engaged and listen.
