Our Aesthetic Love

Our Aesthetic LoveBy Camille S. Campbell

 

What aesthetic do I have to be to make you fall in love with me?

I create each facet of myself to draw you in,

When I study alone at night, I imagine our dark academia romance

Cobblestones, libraries of wood and old literature,

Boarding schools, lake houses full of Ivy League legacies.

In class, I daydream of our vintage love:

1950s vinyl, milkshakes and roller skates,

Leather jackets, 1980s, rock’n’roll, drive-in movies,

I will morph into the aesthetic you choose.

If you glance at a grunge girl,

I will paint my nails maroon and ebony.

Ask a soft-girl to prom

and I’ll show up in a gown of pastels.

Talk to the teacher’s pet in art class,

and I’ll be your artsy queen.

How many Pinterest boards and bullet journals do I have to make for you to see me?

How many times do I have to go under metamorphosis to finally be a butterfly?

When will our aesthetic love be more than just my dream?

 

Reflection:

Because I am inspired by various aesthetics that are gaining popularity, such as the “dark academia” aesthetic and “vintage” aesthetic, I wanted to create a visual poem that would invoke images of each aesthetic and tell a love story. This idea turned into a poem called “Our Aesthetic Love.” It is a coming of age story about someone who alternates “aesthetics” hoping that the person they have a crush on will return their feelings. By scrolling through Pinterest boards and researching the subculture of aesthetics that are popular amongst teens, I wrote the love fantasy story that exists only in a person’s head, everchanging, just like the aesthetics themselves.

 

Camille Campbell is the award winning author of the fantasy book series the Wishner Prophecy. She loves writing poems that tell a vivid story filled with emotions and paint a picture in the reader’s mind. When she’s not writing, you can find Camille painting on silk, playing classical guitar, and reading mystery books.

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