How Our Song Can Never End

<a href="https://www.deviantart.com/pebbled/art/Looking-for-Alaska-324789320">Looking for Alaska by Pebbled @dA</a><br/><br/>Perhaps we are a breath upon the wind,a memory of roses, upturned lipsor, else, the infinite that seems to spinbetween our twinkling eyes and hopeful hips.<br/><br/>Continue to pretend the world is youngand every promise made is coming trueor that the jury isn't simply hungand that the sky is not some dreadful blue,like acid drips or magic, faerie song,a bubble in the universe we know;it's easier, in love, to go alongand pray our graceless monsters never show.<br/><br/>We cannot see the end and live our best,anticipate the time bomb in our chests.<br/><br/>&#8212;<br/><br/>When I started writing poetry, I found my way to a message board called Poetic Constellations. It was one of the first real online communities that I found, one where I didn&#8217;t have to pretend to be somebody else. I could be me. <br/><br/>I&#8217;m not exactly sure how happy they were, all of these adults, to have a 14 year-old poet in their midst, but they were welcoming and lovely and encouraging. They celebrated everything that I wrote&#8212;stuff I can now admit was absolutely terrible.<br/><br/>But they knew I was growing. <br/><br/>One of the things I learned from Poetic Constellations was how to let an image inspire me. How to reflect on a portrait, on a work of art, and let that wake up some words. And how to curate a collection of art that I can turn to when I need something to write.<br/><br/>Thank Goodness for DeviantArt. Whenever I can feel a poem struggling to come out, I go to my favorites and wait for something to catch my eyes. Whatever picture has words for me.<br/><br/>This time, it just happened to be a piece of art inspired by one of my favorite books, John Green&#8217;s Looking for Alaska. It was one of the first books (after Laurie Halse Anderson&#8217;s Speak) to really and truly break my heart wide open.<br/><br/>(No, I haven&#8217;t watched the TV series yet. I know it&#8217;s going to hurt e