smiling faces in my view
with cheers that chip at my brain
hammering away at the worry
the fears
the anxiety
as laughter fills the air
forced out by these lungs of mine
the artificial happiness swells
and I choke on insincerity
the sight of fresh and falling snow
bends new enthusiasm across their lips
mine mimic
in an awkward
sort of way
inside the bubble
of my thoughts
that ache and scream
while I wake and sleep
laugh and plead
I'm crying now
raw and raking tears
yet the worries never cease
with false air,
a smeared smile
faking, in the pursuit
of realness
Erin Knape is a 19-year-old prose and poetry writer from Michigan. As a sophomore at the University of Michigan, her academic pursuits lay in psychology, cognition, and creative writing. Erin is also a contributing writer for arts, ink., an Arts at Michigan blog, which aims to define the college experience and promote creative expression. During the Fall 2022 academic year, she embarked on an Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program internship concentrating on prose writing and literary journal analyses. With this mentorship, Erin aims to entertain and inform through prose-based mental health representation. In her free time, she enjoys photography, binge-watching Netflix, and catching up with friends. Erin is enthusiastic about this upcoming summer as she will be crafting her first novel, which contemplates what it means to fall in and out of love with life.
"Snowy Jerusalem" by StateofIsrael is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
