SMU Creatives Column - June
Written by: Annastatia Brooks
Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash
You Hated When I Said I Love You
Written by Sam Lord
Trigger Warning: Domestic abuse
“You Hated When I Said I Loved You” by Samantha Lord deals with themes of uneven power dynamics and faulty expressions of affection in romantic relationships. Using eloquent language in a creative free verse form, the experiences and struggles of a stranger become all the more tangible.
You hated when I said I love you
It made you feel guilty. Your bruised ego
Could not bear, the burden of power
which fell on your lap, frightened you.
Your schooling had somehow neglected Abuse.
The lucidity of it, love and what we mistake it for.
You did not know how to love me, your soul was empty
Of compassion, and the labour I caused you,
Made your blood cold. I
Held out my open wounds and you tended them
Timidly, I trusted you.
You could not love me,
You recognized it, and recoiled
As your compassion wilted into anger, and your sensitivity
Became aggression
So, we posed for my parents
Watching bewildered reflections of ourselves
Seeing the grey-faced shell, I had become
Just as I was, fighting without a sword
And vomiting with fear. And the hatred
That buried itself inside the crippling impatience
You forced upon me
Was that amazing for you? I
Was not all that you asked of me: and I paid for it
I dared not tell them, of the misplaced maltreatment
Worth no act I was capable of.
The sin no good man could hide behind.
The guilt was what you tried to wake up from
And could not. I see you, in my nightmares,
In the faces of the strangers, I pass by
Like my undead soul waits to haunt you,
Your unburdened soul, still not understanding,
Thinking this is still our honeymoon
In the world untouched by you, all opportunities await you,
Guilty, and all your faults still to be found
You hated when I said I loved you,
It made you feel guilty; you deserved it.
--2025
Sam Lord is an English and French Major minoring in Sociology at Saint Mary's University. Despite being from Nova Scotia, she has never gotten over the touristic appeal of Peggy's Cove and frequents the location during warmer months. Growing up, she loved going to museums, with some of her favourites being the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, and the Museum of Natural History. She has been involved with Girl Guides of Canada since she was young and currently volunteers as a unit leader with a Guide Group. In her free time, she enjoys crocheting, hanging out with friends, and writing.
Untitled
Created by Cedar Pitcou
Cedar Pitcou’s comic portrays the struggles of technology. Their character attempts to make the display screen larger, only to find the computer can’t handle it, and everything becomes humorously askew.
Cedar Pictou is a Mi’kmaq and Black Nova Scotian artist and Computing Science major. The quote “Jack of all trades master of none.” has always been an accurate descriptor of their creative pursuits. They are an interdisciplinary artist that does murals, teaches workshops, makes stickers, designs clothes, crochets, and much more. Their art is one of their biggest supporters as a broke university student, and they so happy to share it with everyone.
NOTE:
Cedar made this comic amidst finals season. Every new programmer has made changes to their work that has led to catastrophic results. Hopefully this comic can bring you all some comedic relief.
Not an Artist
Written by Taylor Minnis
Taylor Minnis’ work “Not an Artist” describes a person with the heart of a creator who is unable to create. Despite a longing to make something beautiful from despair, the inability to create art is an all-encompassing fear.
A framed art piece.
Written in disappearing ink-
Blank and tranquil.
A message lies where no one can view.
An image that no one can hear.
And a story never to be told.
Anxious is the one who can not relive the narrative.
Anxious is the one with a single thought to their name.
Anxious is the one with the paintbrush but no will to paint.
And anxious is the one who cannot create the reality they crave.
Artwork takes an artist to be valiant.
It takes an artist to move their paintbrush;
To swindle the colors and manipulate the human eye.
Artist are blind to the beauty of their work,
But it is beheld by another.
One wishes to be another artist-
Desperate to not be the singularity.
Fitting outside the broken wooden crate.
Pouring out creativity flushed.
I have never been an artist.
Peel my skin back, and the bone lacks enticement.
I can not exploit the color palette.
I can fantasize a captivating canvas,
But to no avail.
My despair lies within the disappearing ink.
For my tale will be spoken by a dead man;
And dead men tell no tales.
Growing up, Taylor could never do anything that they considered traditional 'art'. “Not an Artist” is meant to show the frustration of not being good enough and not believing in one's capability. It has a sense of irony throughout the piece as it becomes art itself.
The Source
Written by Annastatia Brooks
“The Source” by Annastatia Brooks describes the experience of poetry from the perspectives of both the poet and the reader. It paints the picture of a distinct line connecting the poet to the reader, traveling from the poet’s soul to the page, and from the page to the reader’s soul.
No, no, no,
My heart years,
My mind screams,
My spirit burns,
But my soul,
My soul is the part that writes,
The piece
That funnels every feeling
From my core
To my arm
To my hand
To my pen
To the ink embedding itself
Into pulp
Into page
Into eyes
Into breath
Into head
Trickling down
Into soul.
Annastatia Brooks is from a rural town on the beautiful island of Newfoundland. She is a poet doing an honours in English and a minor in Social Justice and Community Studies. Her greatest passion has always been writing, and she hopes to one day publish a book of her poetry so she can share her work with the world. When she’s not writing, she loves crocheting silly little creatures, exploring her island, and scrapbooking outside in the sun.