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• 1 media/new orange.jpg 2021-04-30T16:35:07+00:00 Mundane 4 Object 3 Submission plain 2021-05-13T04:13:27+00:00

  By Emma Stover

  Mundane 

  the smile of a passing friend 
  a hug from those who care  
  strangers faces on a walk  
  the slight breeze carrying 
  the scent of flowers  
  
  places of comfort  
  are often found in mundanity  
  the human actions we adore  
  are often overlooked  
  until the time  
  when they are no longer  
  
  the habits of life  
  taken for granted  
  laughing on the quad  
  dressed to the nines  
  for a picnic with friends 
  
  knowing what you could be missing  
  the burning desire for the return of normalcy  
  the wonder 
  what would have been had the world but stopped  
  and yet 
  
  this would not exist  
  i may not be here at all  
  you may not be here  
  so now, the wonder of what could have been  
  is the wonder of what could be  
  
  the fragments of regular life 
  creep into the new one we have  
  different than the past 
  not worse  
  Different. 
  
  This prompt was difficult to narrow down for me. I had a variety of ideas and didn’t have a single clue which one I should attempt. I realized I had spent a lot of time reflecting on the past year as it comes to a close. Despite the immense amount of fun I had during my first year at college, there was undoubtedly a much higher level of stress because of the current circumstances. I realized that the things I missed out most on were the fairly average, taken for granted activities. As I clicked through archive photos from the Watkinson, I found this one of five girls on the long walk. I instantly drew a connection to myself as my main group of friends here is made up of five girls. One of them was even wearing pants very similar to a pair Gill wears. I decided to take a stab at writing a poem of what I felt. I do not think it is an extraordinary poem, or a final draft even. However, it does encapsulate some of the thoughts I have had about what I have missed.