By Lina Norris-Raman, TIWP Student You weren’t cringy, you were seven.You were just a kid, with a mouthful of mismatched words,and knees that carried the constellations of a thousand scrapes,from a fall, from a rise, from a life perpetually learning to stand. You weren’t cringy—you were a child discovering your orbit.You weren’t annoying, you were […]

By O. Deng, TIWP Student No, I don’t think that was funny.  No, I do not like you. No, I do not want to message you. No, I am not looking for a new person to come into my life and ruin my peace. No, I am not sorry for doing that to you. No, […]

By Karina Ciliegia, TIWP Student write down everythingthat you thinkit’s a matter of time before there’s nothingleft of mei hate to admit itbut how could i forget itafter all the years that have passed byi see your eyesflashing red lightslike a thunderous stormsongs about heartbreak they’realways lovebut sometimes that’s not trueit was impossible to live […]

By Kristen Ho, TIWP Student I am frustrated because I couldn’t kill the kitchen fly this morning.He’d buzz around the kitchen seemingly with no plan,but somehow he’d always escape my flyswatter, no matter how hard I tried. I am frustrated because I keep thinking about my homeworkand I’m struggling to write freely because of it.The […]

By Elisabetta Smith, TIWP Student its a surreal type of painwhen you have to convince yourselfto ignore it you can run into a windowthinking it was just airwhen you don’t know if it’s really a fightor just something else you made up in your headbecause if nobody else noticedthen it must not be therei wish […]

By Elisabetta Smith, TIWP Student in just a minutewatch my empire fall to the groundpick up the pieces turn back around and i don’t know what to sayi guess nothing’s really gainedif you forgot all of the pain again and i guess that i was wrongand all that i have is goneand maybe we can […]

By Giséle Anagnost, TIWP Student I wish that the crumbling ground we walk upon will stay steady no matter how we tread upon it. I wish that we could have strengthened each other in times of darkness instead of tearing each other down. I wish for trust and hope between us. I wish for what we […]

By Laily, TIWP Student Purple is the ache of
being understood only by yourself,
when the world looks at you
and sees nothing but light,
but inside,you’re lost in a shadow.Purple is the pulse in your chest
when something beautiful ends,
and you know you can’t go back
to the way it was.It’s the ghost of a feeling.Purple is the smell of rain
before it […]

By Laily, TIWP Student If I let my light shine,without dimming it to fit the room, If I stopped folding myselfinto smaller versions of what’s considered safe, questioning my self-worth, what would growin the space I reclaimed? If I stop shrinking my voiceto fit the ease of silence,stop apologizing for wanting more, I would stop arguing with doubtbefore […]

By Laily, TIWP Student I don’t know what to call it,the space between a sigh and a smile,when someone says “you’re too sensitive,”and you don’t know if it’s a curse or a compliment. It’s like the smell you remember,that brings back a memorybut can’t name,and suddenly you’re there. It’s the color grayA fog that lingers […]