Ashe Vernon's Blog, page 147

Where do you get your inspiration? What gives you ideas for topics?

I’ve gotten this question a handful of different times and I usually don’t answer it simply because I kind of don’t know?? I mean, to be truly honest, I STRUGGLE a LOT when it comes to writing topics because I feel like I’m always writing about the same 3 or 4 people and the same 2 or 3 themes.

I will say, though, inspiration is a fickle beast and it’s really important to learn how to write even when you don’t feel ~inspired~. Just the other day I was DRUDGING through writing things that I completely hated because I wanted to have something WRITTEN
and then suddenly I had an idea, and then I was writing a poem that I DID like.

I think it happens a lot that way–you have to get the muscles working before the really good stuff comes along, sometimes.

you know that feeling of here, like when you're depressed and you don't want to be "here", well here followed me halfway across the country, do you have anything about that kind of feeling?

The problem with depression is you can’t outrun it. And the problem with unhappiness is that it’s rarely as connected to our surroundings as we like to think it is, so things like moving across the country or going on a journey to “find yourself” never really work the way we want them to, because we carry that unhappiness with us.

The good news is, we carry the happiness with us, too.

"A CYNIC’S LETTER TO HER FUTURE SELF: Dear person I will be when I’m not lonely,please remember..."

“A CYNIC’S LETTER TO HER FUTURE SELF:

 

Dear person I will be when I’m not lonely,

please remember what it felt like

before you fell in love–not

so that lonely can keep haunting your house

even when there is no room for him, but

so that when he does move back in

you aren’t so startled by the aching.

He is such a quiet house guest, but he

needs

so many pieces you are not willing to give.

I’m asking you

to be ready

to give them.

I’m asking you to pack light.

It’s a long walk back

alone.

Each taste of love

makes the empty harder to swallow.

I know.

Dear person I will be when I am happy:

please don’t forget the person that I am

right now. Please don’t

treat me like an exit wound, or a

broken fever, please remember all the things

I carried for you. Please remember all the days

I cried for you, the mistakes I made so

you didn’t have to. Please remember all

the groundwork I laid

to get us here.

We both know that there are nights

where the survival is ugly–where regret

is the only thing still living in the rafters.

The rest are all skeletons.

I know how badly you will want to bury

all that I am and all that I used to be.

But don’t you dare forget

that you couldn’t have gotten better

without me.”

- A CYNIC’S LETTER TO HER FUTURE SELF by Ashe Vernon

"How do I turn into sunshine?I want to be so warm,so warm,I forget what being coldfeels like."

“How do I turn into sunshine?

I want to be so warm,

so warm,

I forget what being cold

feels like.”

- Ashe Vernon

"A CYNIC’S LETTER TO HER FUTURE SELF: Dear person I will be when I’m not lonely,please..."

“A CYNIC’S LETTER TO HER FUTURE SELF:

 

Dear person I will be when I’m not lonely,

please remember what it felt like

before you fell in love–not

so that lonely can keep haunting your house

even when there is no room for him, but

so that when he does move back in

you aren’t so startled by the aching.

He is such a quiet house guest, but he

needs

so many pieces you are not willing to give.

I’m asking you

to be ready

to give them.

I’m asking you to pack light.

It’s a long walk back

alone.

Each taste of love

makes the empty harder to swallow.

I know.

Dear person I will be when I am happy:

please don’t forget the person that I am

right now. Please don’t

treat me like an exit wound, or a

broken fever, please remember all the things

I carried for you. Please remember all the days

I cried for you, the mistakes I made so

you didn’t have to. Please remember all

the groundwork I laid

to get us here.

We both know that there are nights

where the survival is ugly–where regret

is the only thing still living in the rafters.

The rest are all skeletons.

I know how badly you will want to bury

all that I am and all that I used to be.

But don’t you dare forget

that you couldn’t have gotten better

without me.”

- A CYNIC’S LETTER TO HER FUTURE SELF by Ashe Vernon

aesthetic meme - post your aesthetic by only using pictures...

aesthetic meme - post your aesthetic by only using pictures saved to your computer !!

nobody tagged me, I’m just a show-off

Hi Ashe~ I was wanting to buy your books, but I can only get one right now. My favorites poems are Rebuilding Beautiful and Metropolitan Mermaids, so I was wondering which ones they are in?

Hi, sunshine!! First of all, thank you so much!

So, Rebuilding Beautiful is BRAND new–as in, I wrote it yesterday. So it’s definitely not in either of my books [although there is a pretty high chance it will be in my next one!] BUT Metropolitan Mermaids is in Belly of the Beast

[there are, however, poems LIKE Rebuilding Beautiful in Wrong Side of a Fistfight, if you decide you’d rather go that way]

I’m really happy that that sex ed post is getting so many notes :’) my babies learning things

I’m really happy that that sex ed post is getting so many notes :’) my babies learning things

DEAR TEENAGERS AND YOUNG ADULTS BECOMING SEXUALLY ACTIVE FOR THE FIRST TIME:

1. DEMAND condom use
2. Hold your partners accountable for what happens in the bedroom. None of this “baby I can’t control myself around you” or “I just wanted you so bad” bullshit.
3. Coercion is real and it’s very scary and hard to identify in the moment. Establish a dialogue with your partner. Be clear on what you both want. Be clear on what you don’t want. Your boundaries should ALWAYS be respected.
4. Sex can be really emotionally and physically over-stimulating the first few times; don’t be afraid or ashamed to ask your partner to slow down, take a break, or even stop.
5. Focus less on pleasing your partner and more on exploring your partner. Everyone’s body is different and there are no “tricks” to better sex. Chances are, if you psych yourself out worrying over how well you’re “performing” then nobody’s going to have a good time.
6. Ask questions, offer suggestions. Despite what porn has probably taught you, talking during sex isn’t weird or taboo. Your partner isn’t a mind reader. They don’t know what feels good to you. [Pro-tip, a looot of people without clitorises aren’t fully aware of just HOW sensitive a clitoris is. They can be a little rough with them. Tell them to chill!!!!]
7. Your sex life is YOUR business. Don’t ever feel ashamed of how many or how few sexual partners/experiences you’re having. Do what you want, touch the people who want to touch you back, forget the rest.
8. DON’T FAKE YOUR ORGASMS!! Don’t fake your orgasms!! DON’TFAKEYOURORGAMS!! If your partner isn’t getting you there, let them know! Tell them how!!
9. There is more to sex than orgasms. Sex is a really cool way to establish intimacy and trust, to have a fun time, to relieve stress, to explore a person’s body and bring them pleasure. Don’t get me wrong, orgasms are really cool and good, but your sex life is going to be a lot better if it doesn’t revolve around them.
10. LEARN ABOUT YOUR BODY!! This goes for everyone, but ESPECIALLY if you are a person in possession of a vulva, you have been discouraged and even actively kept from vital knowledge about your anatomy! Do some google searches, buy a human sexuality textbook, masturbate.
11. Virginity is a useless concept. It’s completely okay if your virginity is something important to you and I’m not trying to belittle that idea. Just, for the record, in the grand scheme of things it’s not a big deal. Literally nothing about you changes just because you bumped uglies with someone else.

This has been a public service announcement from your friendly internet poet.

"Do you remember what it was liketo be sixteen years of unattended campfires?Back when the heat..."

“Do you remember what it was like

to be sixteen years of unattended campfires?

Back when the heat that poured from his mouth

felt like enough to keep the fire burning–

when you turned your throat into a chimney,

blew smoke into the mouths of

anyone willing to kiss you,

do you remember being a housefire?

Do you remember–

my god, do you remember

the days we stayed up till sunrise

like the moon couldn’t touch us

if we just turned our backs on it?

Or chasing the stars in your old pickup truck,

headed west?

 

You were married

before I understood

what all those nights

spent next to you

actually meant.”

- “BEST FRIENDS” DON’T WANT TO KISS EACH OTHER LIKE THIS by Ashe Vernon