Ventura Boulevard
by Madelin Glasser
The College of Saint Rose
Madelin Glasser is a senior at the College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York. She is an English major with two minors in Writing and General Music. She is the founder and co-president of the English Club at her college. She is planning on pursuing her Master’s degree in English adolescent education and continuing on the journey of becoming an author.
Ventura Boulevard
Zodiac killers
Young scarlet harlots with
Xanny pills for free
Women dream of
Velvet drapes and red carpet
Utopia, with no escape from
Tactful plans to commit murder
Starting a religion with a sacrifice
Rewarding evil by
Questioning the morals of the weak
Prove to the young woman in pink the
Optical illusion that life goes on
Neverland never seemed so far away with
Movie stars and Doris Day
Living just down the street
Kickstart schemes and
Jeers, sell me the
Imposters, lucid
Hollywood dreams of forgotten
Grand centuries
Fevers broken, diamond trees
Ecstasy
Demonic rites, drugged delights
Caddy in the valet
Blood and heroin fill my veins
A wonderful sight, LA
A wonderful sight, LA
Blood and heroin fill my veins
Caddy in the valet
Demonic rites, drugged delights
Ecstasy
Fevers broken, diamond trees
Grand centuries,
Hollywood dreams of forgotten
Imposters, lucid
Jeers, sell me the
Kickstart schemes and
Living just down the street,
Movie stars and Doris Day
Neverland never seemed so far away
Optical illusion that life goes on
Prove to the young woman in pink
Questioning the morals of the weak,
Rewarding evil by
Starting a religion with a sacrifice,
Tactful plans to commit murder,
Utopia, with no escape from
Velvet drapes and red carpet
Women dream of
Xanny pills for free,
Young scarlet harlots with
Zodiac killers
Interview with the Author
What pieces inspired you to start writing poetry?
I have always been a fan of Edgar Allan Poe, but he never really inspired me to write. I find a lot of inspiration from music and my biggest influence is Jim Morrison. My favorite piece written by Morrison is “A Feast of Friends” and it has inspired me in many of my poems.
What theme do you find yourself constantly writing about in your works?
I tend to write about reality along with life and death. Many of my pieces focus on my thoughts and feelings about where I am in my life and the struggles I am facing.
What do you think are important elements in thought provoking poems?
I think poems that have multiple interpretations are really important. I believe that such poems provide each reader with their own unique reading experience, allowing them to interpret and derive meaning from the work a different way each time. I think poems that have the ability to provide readers with a different story make a stronger and more complex poem.
What role do you think poetry has on our society today?
I think poetry is underrated in our current society. I see music as having a more prominent role than poetry does. Those that do follow and write poetry, I think they have a much more profound relationship with the world and fellow humans than others because they look at the world through a different lens.