Author: Lauren DeSantis
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The Cloud
For nine whole years, I walked in a cloud. Not the mist you would find waking up after a storm. Not the fog that hugs the mountains in. a cool embrace. Not the smoke that rises from the ends of cigarettes or vapes. And certainly not the smog that rises from factories and power plants.…
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Untied (You Are Free)
Image Source: Unsplash- Nesim Keshmiri Hearts are tied by Religious vows and Emotional waves of Biting love surely We could be Forever tied to each Other through these Bracelets we gave But now I see that we Can’t ever truly Tie two hearts with Material goods, can we? So break the tie and I Try…
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The Case For Mocktails
Image Source: Pexels- Arina Krasnikova It’s an Asian thing, I say To my baffled friends As I place my mock Mojito Among their crystal-rimmed cocktails. Their laugh hides Their disbelief and Honestly? I don’t blame them. Twenty-one is fun, they said. You can go to bars! Let’s go to bars! … Can you go to…
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Halloween Hurricane
Image Credit: Unsplash- Natural Photos October 31, 2012. I stepped onto my front step in an orange Jack-o-lantern shirt and my orange cat ears to go trick-or-treating with my friend. The fall leaves decorated the water-soaked concrete. The sky had been gray for a little over a week, but the winds finally died down. Yes,…
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A College Girl’s Guide To Autumn: Northeastern Pennsylvania Edition
September is my favorite month. Not only is it my birthday month, but it also kickstarts my second favorite season: autumn! Second favorite because spring (especially early spring) brings back a lot of nostalgia for me. Given that I’ve been spending most of my autumns in the lovely city of Scranton, Pennsylvania, I thought I’d…
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A Coole Place (Lady Gregory)
Image Credit: Lauren DeSantis A Lady walks along these grounds Where her grand house once stood. Her hand grazes The stone foundations; She walks beneath a stone archway And grasps the red barred doors. Swallows flit above her; She watches with ghostly eyes. Another turn past The redwood tree, And then past the autograph tree,…
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From The Air Vent
Image Source: Pinterest From the air vent, as in Venting my bottled emotions onto paper. My digital diary, If you will, My one place I feel safe. The one place I feel safe Is this poetry I share with you: A peak behind the mask I have so carefully crafted, For this time, I have…
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Confessions of a College Student: Some Non-Advice
This image was taken by Lauren DeSantis. I am not entirely sure how to go about writing advice like this. There is a HerCampus magazine chapter at my university where my fellow women write fun advice articles like “top ten songs” or “absolute skincare musts,” which I read as often as I eat breakfast during…
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Jesmyn Ward’s Let Us Descend
Let Us Descend follows Annis, an enslaved girl from a Carolinian rice field, as she is sent away by her sire to New Orleans, Louisiana. During the year she spends fighting for her life on the sugar plantation, Annis encounters various nature spirits who both serve as help and adversaries. One of these spirits is…
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Three Haikus: Nine Nights
F.P.E. Freshly brewed iced tea Poured over sour lemon Encrusted with ice chunks Forlorn owl fly Past the bruised pearl moon over Eternal stars burning black Fake tongue stumbling Pry natural words from my mouth Easily come forth A.L.H. Ash to ash, blinding Lava spit unto the sky Heaven bound to Earth Alive and breathing…