Swimming Lessons: Poems

Copyright

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in these poems are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

HarperCollinsPublishers

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First published in the US by St. Martin’s Griffin, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group

First published in the UK by HarperCollinsPublishers 2020

FIRST EDITION

© Lili Reinhart 2020

Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers 2020

Cover illustration © Curt Montgomery 2020

A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library

Lili Reinhart asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

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Source ISBN: 9780008365677

Ebook Edition © May 2020 ISBN: 9780008365684

Version 2020-06-10

Dedication

To my nana, who always

loved my voice.

Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Introduction

Begin Reading

Acknowledgments

About the Publisher

Introduction

I believe that we read poetry to relate to the world.

We see our lives through the words of a poet when we are incapable of expressing ourselves.

I started reading poetry as a way to comfort myself through spells of depression. Discovering poems that closely reflected the thoughts in my own head became reassuring in a time when I felt severely misunderstood.

It’s hard to imagine that anyone out there could possibly feel the same things that you do, to the depths that you feel them. Therein lies the beauty and surprise of poetry.

Once you see that someone understands your feelings, suddenly you’re not alone anymore.

I decided a little over a year ago that I wanted to share my own collection of poems in the hopes that they could bring comfort to whomever is looking for it.

The inspiration for this collection came from personal experiences as well as experiences that are not my own. Emotion can be explored and felt through the fabrication of a story, and some of these poems were crafted out of pure empathy for those around me.

Each one of us leads vastly different lives, and yet we can all relate to the fundamental feelings of happiness and sorrow.

I hope that you, the reader, can see yourself reflected in my words.

I can’t seem to write

perfect words

or make them flow as

they should.

They don’t sound

particularly profound.

I can’t paint you

pretty pictures

or blend colors like

other artists do.

My watercolors don’t

bleed beautifully.

But I can say I love you

in as many languages

as you need me to.

I can be fluent in

loving you.

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