Selected Poems by Taryn Mullins

pandemic

pandemic is a petrifying word.

it means the state of the world is

being compromised to some capacity.

pandemic brings fear and uncertainty

along with its biological warfare.

it is disheartening to see hundreds

of thousands, even millions of people

have their lives disrupted with a disease.

it hurts to see, as we go through our own pandemic,

how close it got to my own family.

how it took two of them away.

how i now worry about my entire

immediate family as they battle something

that could feel like nothing, or

could end up being deadly.

pandemic is petrifying.

why do some people

brush it off like its nothing?

don't forget about me

the last time we talked was several years ago,

everything was still somewhat sewn together then.

i never had your number saved,

i could only take a guess at the area code.

it's been so long since i've been in the same room as you.

i don't know if i would really belong there anymore.

can't quite remember the last meal we ate together,

i'm sure it would have a bittersweet taste now, though.

related, but so distant. family.

just please don’t forget about me.

oxygen

on and off tears for

what seems like hours,

my lungs are collapsing,

my air becoming minimal.

the excretion of my thoughts

run down my face in

the most cinematic way.

i can't breathe, I CAN’T BREATHE!

the pain is overtaking me.

in my mind, i am screaming

but no one can hear me.

- someone make it stop, please.

aging

time is taking its toll on you.

it is wearing your skin to leather,

it carves road maps in your forehead.

it turns your muscles into jelly, and

it makes your hair look like a bunny's.

it limits how many destinations you have,

it erodes your joints like water to rock.

it drains the calcium buried in your bones,

it jerks away your normal breaths.

it steals your memories and life from you,

it decreases your organ functionality.

it makes walking a balancing act, and

it deteriorates the quality of your senses.

time is taking its toll on you,

but i'm not ready to let you go.

Columbus, OH

Taryn Mullins is a 19-year-old university student who has recently launched her writing career with the publication of her debut poetry book, “extremities”. She is a creative and artistic soul at heart with interests in writing, literature, vintage cars, and traveling, to name a few. Currently, Taryn is working on creating more writing content while simultaneously sending it to different zines and publishers to increase her exposure and audience. She dreams of a life where her writing career takes over and she is able to do book tours, signings, readings, interviews, & be a bestseller. Her inspiration draws from early readings of Rupi Kaur and trying to put words to extreme feelings that no outside author seemed to do.