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"The Spaces Between" by Joelle Cooper

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Visit Young Poets World to explore all submission opportunities for poets 18 years and under. Young poets may also submit to the Weekly Poems Contest.

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September 15th, 2026

Young Poets World

Young Poets Contest #2 – First Place

The Spaces Between

by Joelle Cooper

Before the sun stretches over the rooftops,
I’m already running
shoes pounding the floor like a drum,
backpack heavy with assignments,
arms aching from last night’s practice,
heart already counting the hours ahead.

I smile at the halls,
nod at the chatter,
listen as secrets spill from open mouths,
holding everyone else’s burdens
while mine twists quietly in my chest.

I notice the things no one does:
the sharp scent of chalk dust,
the whisper of sneakers on polished gym floors,
the way sunlight scatters across a library table,
like it knows the stories we try to hide.

I am everywhere and nowhere
basketball, cheer, track, soccer, gymnastics,
clubs, council, duties I cannot skip
a carousel spinning faster than I can breathe.
I chase medals and grades
but the applause is always someone else’s.

I talk, I listen, I care,
yet when I reach out,
my hand grazes only air.
I am a quiet ghost in crowded rooms,
smiling for everyone
and smiling for no one.

At night, the world finally slows,
but my chest is still loud with words unsaid.
I pour them into pages,
ink tracing the ache of invisible arms,
of laughter I never hear,
of a heart too busy being everything
for everyone but me.

Poetry becomes my mirror,
my friend, my pulse, my scream
the only place where I exist
without apology, without pause,
where I can finally be seen
in the spaces between everything else.

About the Poet
Joelle Cooper resides in Ashtabula, Ohio, United States.
Read the poet's biography and Young Poets World publications on Joelle Cooper's Artist Page.

Young Poets Collection
This poem is featured in Young Poets Collection #3, published in the Young Poets World Library.

Back to Young Poets Collection #3

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