All the things I never said Letters I wrote you never read The days last forever The years fly by Pain tends to linger But at least the tears dry
Dedication
The above poem is dedicated to my old friend Nicole who I used to play Neopets with. I wrote it about 3 years ago when I was going through a sort of emo phase. Looking back, the poem is a bit melodramatic and embarrassing, but I do enjoy the rhyme scheme.
When I met Nicole, I was ecstatic because it was so rare to find someone in real life who also still played Neopets. I related to them a lot. We had a similar sense of humor and taste in music and video games.
We even got into writing poetry together because we both played Doki Doki Literature Club, a horror visual novel about a poetry club. Nicole was always willing to listen. I felt like they really understood me.
Plus, they were so creative. I always admired that about them. Nicole was the one who introduced me to Dungeons and Dragons and the whole idea of making my own characters for a game. I was completely enthralled when they would show me some of their own characters, art, and stories.
Before, I had always been too embarrassed to show anything that I had made. I would keep all my art and writing to myself and deem it too cringe-worthy to share with others. It’s like there’s this pressure for your creative work to immediately be at an expert level when you share it with others.
I still struggle with this, but Nicole showed me how sharing art with your friends can be something that’s enjoyable instead of shameful, and that it didn’t have to be perfect right away. I remember looking forward to whenever they would show me their new stories or art pieces. Everything they made was highly imaginative.
Unfortunately, Nicole moved away and removed every form of contact. I don’t entirely know why but I’m sure they had their reasons. Although I miss my friend, I’m incredibly grateful that I was able to have met them. They inspired me and made me feel heard when I was going through a hard time.
Thank you for being my friend, Nicole. I hope you’re doing well wherever you are now.