.nonconformist.

The challenge: Write a story poem inspired by this picture:

(This is a rough draft – probably. Assuming it ever feels important enough to go through again.)

nconformist

okay, you win.
but not because i didn’t give it my best shot.
i tried every way i knew
to fit the formula,
to follow the rules-

i made new friends,
put together a new wardrobe,
changed my daily routine,

i paid attention
and did everything that was expected of me.
they said i was the prime example of a life remade
the perfect convert.

their success story.

but it wasn’t enough.
when it came down to it,
he didn’t want the girl
who compromised her life for him.

he could see what i hid from myself-
that the defiance was only skin-deep
and i would never belong in his world of rough edges and spontaneity.
he knew exactly what he wanted:
a mind that never stops working and
never backs down,
someone who will make him fight for everything he believes in:
you.

i’ll go now.
back to my whitewashed life in the suburbs
and try not to think of you
two
speaking softly in the shadows.