“Conscious Self (Frankenthaler-1)” © Sally Brown

 

The Unpopular Popular Girl

That shy, simple, beautiful girl
Whose eyes radiate like a brilliant sun
A voice like the melody of a bird
Impossible to be hated by anyone
Lighting spirits with but a word
That shy, simple, beautiful girl
Her smile never seems to fade
Somehow everyone knows her name
The brightest one in our grade
Who never suffers from any pain
That shy, simple, beautiful girl
How everyone longs to be her
The girl who somehow manages
To always have a laugh or smile to spare
Oh, to have the light she always brings
That shy, simple, beautiful girl
Comes home each day
To hang her mask upon its hookц
Where till tomorrow it shall stay
Like taking the cover off a book
That shy, simple, beautiful girl
Whose pages are yellowed and torn
No more plastered smiles
The brightness gone
No light for miles
Merely a shell

Of that shy, simple, beautiful girl
Who everyone longs to be

 

Holmy Carmy: “I’m a high-school student who has recently gotten involved with the poetic community. The magic in words never seems to fail my artistic nature in being able to describe and put my ideas onto paper in unique ways. I’ve traveled my whole life, and growing up as a 3rd culture kid has given me an original perspective on life and often sparks ideas for my poetry.”

Sally Brown is an artist, curator and writer currently based in Morgantown. Her artwork including drawing, painting and performance, explores womanhood, motherhood and the body. She has exhibited her work in spaces nationally and in the UK. She has won two awards for illustration for Intimates and Fools and Leaves of Absence, both with poetry by Laura Madeline Wiseman. She has participated in artist residencies with Stay Home Gallery in TN and Rhoneymeade Sculpture Center in PA; and will be participating in the internationally renowned artist residency, Proyecto Ace, in Buenos Aires, May 2023. Her writing has been published in Hyperallergic, Women’s Art Journal and Artslant, among others. She has curated group shows in Omaha, Nashville, Pittsburgh, Morgantown and Lubbock, TX. She holds a Bachelor of Arts-Studio Art, a Master of Public Administration and Master of Arts- Art History and Feminist Theory. She is a former member of the College Art Association National Committee on Women in the Arts, edited the online journal Les Femmes Folles, and currently serves as Exhibits Coordinator for West Virginia University Libraries.