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Nautica - Youth Ambassador - Writing Center - Just Buffalo Literary Center

Meet the Youth Ambassador: Nautica

Nautica is a passionate wallflower whose writing interests include poems and novels. She enjoys writing about nature and weird fantastical themes. While she does love to write, she struggles to get back into the reading scene because she is a lazy, picky gremlin who can only read a few pages before getting bored and forgetting it after an hour.

A senior at Hutch Tech, Nautica is leading Poetry Through Comics! on February 29th at the JBWC. She was published in Issue 2 of JBWC’s Transmissions.

Read her poem “Mariposa, Mariposa” below.

“Mariposa, Mariposa”

She has been criticized so much by her.
So much anger and responsibility burdened on her
back.

She’s so upset. What is she to do?
Mariposa, Mariposa, such a fool.

The cuts and scars she’s created always had
poured into her cup, but never close to the brim.

Hugging her knees, she looks outside the
window of the manor. Mariposa, Mariposa, what
are you going to do?

Her hand extends outward to the lush
world in front of her.
She’s so close, and then a second hand.

Then her head.

Then her legs.

Until she reaches the flowers below.
She opens her eyes. Sore, but happy, she
limps to independence and freedom.

But then a witness watches. A bluer hue
of beauty, and a darker shade of envy.
She sees her disappearing into the distance,
and freezes for her happiness.

Mariposa, Mariposa, you’ve left her behind, but
she’s happy for you.

“Rosita, Rosita, look at how much you’ve
Bloomed.”

“Mariposa, Mariposa,” her sister says, “I will
miss you.”