Today, Valentine's Day, there is a powerful global movement to end violence against women. Take a look at the "One Billion Rising" event and learn how you can join the movement. http://www.vday.org/home

I watched you from
across the room--
staggered by your yoke
of perfection

Your eyes
that are my eyes
flashed with fear
your face
that is my face
shone with tears

From the moment you
were born you have been
the smart one
and the world expects
great things from you
but no one expects
more than you

Your sister is
the pretty one but
time will prove
that to be just
another cage with
more beautiful bars

Long ago in a
battle I cannot even
remember I was forced
to choose--
to construct a levee against
my own crushing
tide of expectation or
be swept away
by the surge

I chose Tuesday
as the one to indulge
in my insatiable hunger for
perfection—fighting
to let the rest go

You were born
on a Tuesday so
I guess it was inevitable
that we would end up
here in this room
two sides of the same coin
locked in a most futile
stalemate
both convinced we have
too much to lose

Author Bio:
Sarah Tower Burhop is a lot of things, to a lot of people. She is a mother, a daughter, a wife, a sister, a teacher and a friend. In her spare time, she is a writer. She holds dual B.A. degrees in English and Psychology from the University of Iowa, where she studied creative nonfiction as a student of the Undergraduate Writers’ Workshop. She also holds a Masters Degree in Special Education from Brooklyn College. Sarah has spent nearly a decade sharing her love of words with children of all ages, doing her best to convince anyone who will listen that we all have stories worth telling. She lives in coastal Virginia with her husband and two children.

Whether you are a seasoned writer or not, it is always helpful to be reminded of the essentials of writing poetry. While the "essentials" may be different for everyone, reading, researching, and educating yourself is never a bad thing. Find what works for you! See what WhiteSmoke has to say:
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