Welcome to my poetry treasure trove!
a.k.a my substack page for Cardboard & Expired Candy! It's been a long time coming and I'm excited to have a space to share my complex, sad, and angsty poetry.
The Back Story
It was a chill night in New York City. On my way back home from one of the best concerts I had ever seen in my life with my brother and best friend, we were joking around and one of us randomly came up with the name for a hypothetical poetry anthology. Any guesses as to what we said? You got it! “Cardboard and Expired Candy”.
From that moment on, the name stuck around in my head for a long time and I continued to write poems for my hypothetical anthology. To this day, I still write my CBAEC poems on the notes app in my phone. I have over 100 poems on my phone and in various journals.
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So, naturally, when I found this lovely website, I immediately thought of ‘Cardboard & Expired Candy’ and I KNEW I had to do something with it here. And, here we are!
The Why
The main reason I finally decided to put myself out there and share my poetry is because I admire the bravery of individuals like Rupi Kaur, Emily Dickinson, and even the people close to me, like my best friend and my Dad. Each one of them has put themselves out there in different ways, but the end product is always something they seem to be proud of. And that’s something I want to have for myself. Yes, sharing your vulnerable thoughts and feelings on the internet inevitably invites opinions, and sometimes hate, but without risk, there is no reward.
The Hope
In doing this, the hope is that I find my community— people who can relate to the words that I have written. You don’t have to like what I write, nor do I expect you to. I only have expectations for myself; to become a better writer, to learn how to express what’s inside my head openly, and to simply have fun.
I do hope that whoever decides to read what I choose to publish does find something to “like” about it. It’s contradictory to what I said earlier, I know….but hear me out! Ultimately, I want to enjoy what I do and give others the space to enjoy it too, and perhaps spark conversations along the way.
Finally, the When…
Ah, the much— anticipated part of this post—how often will I be posting? A great question, indeed. As much as I want to plan out a rigid publishing schedule, I know that’s something I can’t force myself to do at this point in time.
With that said, I will post as often as I deem fair. I have many poems, and while I
may not share all of them, for the ones I feel compelled to share, I will post when I can. I will also try to add more to each post, maybe in the form of pictures and videos that I feel represent the feelings I was trying to convey.
So, here’s to an exciting beginning! I thank you for the support you’ve shown me thus far by just reading this far.
I look forward to embarking on this new journey,
Bryanna <3
The concert referred to in my back story. Yes, I was a die hard Army for a while.
This is the shy, very awkward, super polite, 18 year old Bryanna. She didn’t know what direction her life was going in, sometimes I still don’t. I’m doing this to make her proud!