How to Paint Landscapes

By Olivia Kosmo

How to Paint Landscapes is a collection of poetry dealing with the issues of trauma, pain, hope, feminism, first love, and self-discovery. It also deals with the themes of poor mental health, specifically the struggle with OCD, the realities of belonging to the Greek culture, and the fear of being forever trapped within the confines of abuse. This poetry compilation is about escaping the seemingly inescapable, and never putting your brush down until you see freedom emerge upon your canvas.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tellwell Talent
• Release date: May 16, 2023
• ISBN: 9780228893448

Olivia Kosmo

Olivia Kosmo is a 20-year-old Canadian author and poet. She loves to read romance, drink tea, and romanticize her life as much as possible. She studies at Trent University with a major in English literature, and is working towards pursuing a career as an English teacher. This is Olivia's first independently published poetry collection, though she has previously published her work in Trent University's student writing anthology, Chickenscratch. She is always writing to keep her creativity flowing and her fans entertained.

Book preview

Copyright © 2023 by Olivia Kosmo

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Tellwell Talent

www.tellwell.ca

ISBN

978-0-2288-9343-1 (Hardcover)

978-0-2288-9342-4 (Paperback)

978-0-2288-9344-8 (eBook)

Table of Contents

The Easel

The Paintbrushes

The Acrylics

The Palette

The Canvas

Acknowledgments

About the Author

To my mom, for teaching me that I already am who I’ve always wanted to be,

To my high school English teacher Amy Helsby, for cultivating my passion for writing, and for teaching me that feminism is not a dirty word,

And to every girl like me who believes she will never be free: be your own saviour and just keep writing.

The Easel

Art comes in so many forms

Only when it speaks to you

Does it reveal its true beauty

~ Masterpieces live in your mind

The marble steps I sat on during the ceremony were ice cold

Just like your decision to marry her six months after your divorce

If you could abandon the woman who loved you for a decade of your life

For immediate submission and mindless obedience

What chance did I have of getting you to love me?

The first question I ever asked was,

What’s my name and how do you spell it?

Because even then

I knew how to hang onto a constant

In an environment swirling with chaos

~ Grounded

When you grow up

Listening to the same insults

To the same argument put on a loop

All you are ever going to know

Are the words you have been told

And after a while

You start to believe them

~ When you wonder why I get so defensive

When I was five years old

A singer was my aspiration

I loved the sound of my voice

Certain and powerful

I used to belt out lyrics

As if I