One & Only

by Stacey Dubreus

I am flaunting melodies & discord in here: unspoken

self-exposés, sticky note statements, a provoking phrase

my alter ego rings through my ears & projects into

hushed world like Def Poetry Jam, 5 years of

rent-free living, I present— If One Man Can Change the World;

an ambiance feeding off inaudible egotism,

an attitude raised by my beloved 07305,

blueprints for evoking a beautifully perfect

person & being, but the days I fall are the days I am colorblind,

eardrums filled with melodic fire & isolating cotton,

“Just do it” coaching my Ctrl mind,

features I’ve been molding in privacy,

and jokes & banter intended for spontaneous escapades,

or, in English,

exactly what would be, in an alternate universe,

discovered in my language & named on a tag & recited

like a speech & existing like heavy bone in an x-ray.

Loud and present. Loud and audacious.

Quick bio

Stacey Dubreus is Haitian-American, born and raised in Jersey City. She is a current sophomore at BU on a Pre-Med track, majoring in Human Physiology and minoring in Entrepreneurship. This is her first semester on Charcoal as a copy editor on the Editorial team.

Poem Theme Briefly Discussed

Committing to staying true to yourself is respectable and real, yet so audacious in today’s world. It means you hold a level of trust within yourself to thrive in the space where you loudly and unapologetically live authentically. I believe the rawness in living without filters serves our souls and higher selves such that we attain a deeper level of inner peace, comfortability, and emotional security. This is a process that I am growing to love and appreciate every day.