Broken | Wattys 2016

Paper Towns for a Broken Soul

Humid, blistering summer heat
Battling the cool refreshing air inside
My mom walks in
Handing a seal textured objects to me
Automatically recognising the adventure
Metaphors and heartbreak it contains

Only meaning to glance at it
My eyes lock on as if staring into its soul
The author's name already burned into my memory
John Green...

With pages like a peach fuzz covered kitten
A map marked with thumbtacks
Leading to an amazing adventure
At some angles it's a heart
At Others a welcoming smile

Long nights curled up in the recliner
Legs dangling over the armrest
Back pressed against the other
Other nights spent on my bed
In various positions, always reading
Felling the characters gains and losses
Their joy and pain

Like a vlogbrothers videos
What you first see may seem trivial
But a closer look reveals things beyond imagination
Words that will change your life

An outsider overlooked by society
Seen as a waste of time
A broken soul, chipped and cracked by life
Not even completely sane
Honestly who is

The "normals" don't get us
They never understand
Why we don't obey what society demands
Or how we can so easily get lost in a book
While they gossip about who knows what

We are told to "get a life"
Will the "normals" ever understand
We read, not because we don't have a life
We readers choose to have many

This book's paper towns
Help me realise I am not alone
It teaches me you don't need to fit in
But most importantly
You're probably not as "normal" as you think
My paper towns for my little broken soul