Reckless Reflections
SPoken Word & Poetry Series 2025
Words can scream without being loud.
In her spoken word pieces and poems, Mona Red explores the quiet side of rebellion – raw, direct, and poetic. Her work lingers between pain and power, offering space for those who seek truth in language when the world gets too loud.
An April Promise To Myself
a poem by Mona Red (2025)
frustration. disappointment. anger.
​
I earned more
than just a bloody knee
when I fell.
I fell and hit the ground so hard.
​
venomous stones, unaware of being moved by
snakes in past and present,
tried to make me stumble.
​
they did. I let them.
naivety let me.
​
now I rise.
I rise and dance around them.
I dance like nobody's watching, like nobody's watching.
because there really is nobody watching.
​
I will walk away - wiser - from this hole.
I will move forward,
no matter how many long days
and longer nights it will take.
​
I won't trip over the same stones twice.
ever again.
​
an april promise to myself.
When I see Your Name
a poem by Mona Red (2025)
When I see your name,
I am nice, of course.
When I see your name,
I wanna rip out all my well-protected hair,
my helpless hair -
only it would be such a shame for a nice girl, of course.
When I see your name,
I can feel my powerlessness -
only I do have power, of course.
When I see your name,
I can feel anger seething inside me,
like a toxic, pitiless potion, brewed to kill -
only I am indestructible, of course.
When I see your name,
I wanna tell the whole world about it,
so they will stone you -
only with cotton balls, of course.
When I see your name,
I feel fire
I feel faceplants
I feel non-forgiveness
I feel frustration
I feel fragility
I feel fear -
only I am fealess of course.
When I see your name,
I am nice, of course.
When I see my name,
I am not nice, of course.
The WAter Bottle
a poem by Mona Red (2025)
ha!
it's still there.
their water bottle has been lying there
for 8 days now, and I'm relieved.
it was there
while the clouds were crying
while the sun was showing off
her flawless self
it was there
while the flowers were becoming
while the grass was finding
its place in this mess
it was there
while I kept talking,
while I was trying to legitimize myself,
defending my watery existence.
it was there
while I was special, extraordinary,
the only one doing mistakes.
as if perfect people lived next door.