Truth be told, growing up I never really liked to read, I was more of a numbers kind of girl. Every summer as a kid my mom would make me join the library's summer reading program and it honestly made reading feel like more of a chore than something that's to be enjoyed. As the years passed I felt myself struggling to keep up with what my reading level was supposed to be and I would only read when it came to school. Every once in awhile I would find a book or a piece in English class that I actually liked but it wasn't enough to get to start reading for fun. Fast forward to college, where you have to read 100+ pages a night for just one class. I started to appreciate the time and effort authors put into their work and I quickly went from a numbers girl to a reader/writer. Since this past summer, my favorite types of books to read are poem books. They're not super thick and the pages aren't always completely full, so they don't take up too much time--which is great, especially if you worked 50 hours a week like I did--and you can read them cover to cover. With that being said, here's my 8 of favorite books of poem, and a poem that stuck with me after I finished it.

1. "whiskey words & a shovel volume I" (r.h. Sin)

"in fantasy

that's the problem

you're living in a fantasy

that involves him being

more than he actually is

you're in love with a dream

that will never become a reality

because he refuses to be

the man you deserve"

2. "whiskey words & a shovel volume II" (r.h. Sin)

"forgiveness

I'm still trying to forgive myself

for all the things I failed to become

I'm still trying to make peace

with all the broken pieces of my past"

3. "whiskey words & a shovel volume III" (r.h. Sin)

"these lives matter

I'm hurting because

the color of my skin

makes me perfect

for their target practice

I'm hurting because

in killing them

they're killing me"

4. "milk and honey" (rupi kaur)

"he only whispers i love you

as he slips his hands

down the waistband

of your pants

this is where you must

understand the difference

between want and need

you may want that boy

but you certainly

don't need him"

5. "the sun and her flowers" (rupi kaur)

"you do not just wake up and become the butterfly

-growth is a process"

6. "Love Her Wild" (Atticus)

"The hardest step

we all must take

is to blindly trust

in who we are."

7. "Neon Soul" (Alexandra Elle)

"well-meaning

meaning well and doing

well do not live in the

same house.

perhaps the two are neighbors.

but both cannot make a home

out of you, even if you let them."

8. "the princess saves herself in this one" (Amanda Lovelace)

"a

world

where all

human beings

are taken care of

shouldn't be called

a "revolutionary"

way of life

& yet

it is.

-burn"