Welcome to the age of cringe. Or at least welcome to the age of everything from memes to poetry is either cringe or base. Either truly authentic and unapologetically individual, or embarasing beyond belief. So, where does poetry fit into this new dichotomy? Poetry has always been a way to express yourself in an authentic and individual way that only you can create. It speaks truth and creates art from out emotions, experiences, and identities.Naturally this would mean that all poetry is base, good, a pleasure to read. Wait… what is that hiding in that old notebook stored away in a desk drawer? What are those notes written in the margins of books, on scraps of paper, and post-it notes? Is that a folder titled “Poetry (bad)” on your desktop? Are those really embarassing poems that you never want to see the light of day ever again!? Let’s be real – we’ve all written our fair share of cringe poetry. We’ve all got an old poem stored somewhere we would rather die than let anyone read. Where the audience could keel over from secondhand embarassment if it was read aloud. So, does that mean these cringey poems are inauthentic? Out