The Quill Scratching Against The Yellowed Parchment

Bay, 7^th grade

Redwood

Stumbling down the muddy lane

The sounds of rain

Loud against the dark leaves

Of the old, tall, trees

My heart pounds in my throat

As the sounds of my pursuers

Get closer and closer

A sliver of moonlight

Pierces the veil of darkness

That shrouds my view of the path before me

I feel my stomach lurch

And the pain causes me to double over

I urge myself to keep moving

For they are coming

And are constantly getting closer

But my body does not follow my mind

And I am frozen

They surround me

My eyes shut tight to the crimson glow of theirs
As I resist my primal urges

One leans down and grabs my neck

And I scream in pain

Above, birds flutter

Their wings damp with the mist of the woods

And the raindrops on the branches

Fall cold against my neck

They laugh, and throw me to the ground

Where I land

Cold, bruised, and enraged

My nails dig into the dirt path

And I feel a kick against my side

Why must this happen?

A blow to my head, I cough and spit

Why must they hate me so?

I roll over on my back, groaning in agony

Why can I never be normal?

And as suddenly as a lightning strike

The moon appears

From behind a raining cloud

My heart races

And I stand

Bristling with anger

My captors stare in wonder

The rain begins to fall more heavily

I feel it strike my burning skin

And I’m gone

The screams of fear and pain

Are cut off

Before they can fill the night air

I cannot be found out by anyone else

The dirt is maroon

And slippery with the rain

Sweat

Tears

And blood

Of those that I have destroyed

My secret is safe

As I trudge down the muddy lane

Slipping on its contents

My heart pounding louder than the screams

That echo still in my ears

It pains me so to do this

But I must accept my fate

Bound by the moon

Cherished only by the darkness

In which I hunt

The cry of a wolf shatters the calm

Of the lonely night

My heart gives a shudder of pain

As I quietly walk towards my destiny

Down the lane that winds

Through the redwood forest

Natural Supernova

The sun peaks over the shimmering mountains

Placing its gentle, golden fingers upon the emerald land

As a breeze passes through, the grass sways

In an entrancing, hypnotic display

Of nature’s bounty

The mangled tree roots curve around the valley’s hills

And a bird alights upon a deadened branch

Its summer song radiating like the ripples

Created by a pebble falling

Upon the glistening surface of a lake

The sun collapses over the horizon

As though it had run a long distance

The land is cast in a sudden glow

Like the star that we depend on for life

Has exploded upon itself

In a natural supernova of beauty

Ivory Path

Wrapping my coat tightly

Around my frail, frigid body

I looked to the snowy skies above

The soft flakes falling on my face

And melting on contact

The snow drifted silently to the ground

As I shuffled down the tree-lined lane

Man’s idea of natural perfection

Teeming in evergreen shades

In identical rows beside me

The fur of my hood tickled my face

As I shielded my skin from the snow

I found myself stopped in the midst of the lane

Ankle-deep in the crystalline powder

Inhaling the sharp and frosty air

As suddenly as the stars go out

I give a violent shudder

And wished so desperately

For a hand to hold my own

As I wandered aimlessly down this wintry lane

And then, he was beside me

His fingers entwined with mine

His eyes brighter than the sun upon the snow

His golden hair shining like a beacon of hope

And my heart gave a joyous leap

His lips brushed my frozen cheek

And my icy skin flushed a deeper red

His lips widened in a smile

As he led me down the ivory path

And I knew the night would be cold no more

Seesaw

The two forces of justice

Evil and good

Black and white

Are balanced on your shoulders

Teetering back on forth

There is the black

Like the rumbling clouds

Bringing rain upon the world

And there is the white

The purity of the sun

Bringing life to the world

They balance each other

In equal portions

There is the light and the dark

And sadly, you, my friend

Are the stripes in between

Living Memorial

I stroll through the field of tulips

The red and yellow blossoms

Singing their silent song of color

As the humid summer air

Tickles their stems

My eyes cause the petals

To run together

Forming a large, orange mass

That shimmers with the heat of the sun

I sit cross-legged amid the results of my hard work

My pride and joy

The material representation of my emotions

I pull a red tulip by the roots from the ground

The dew still sparkling on its crimson hues

I give a weak smile

And a yellow flower follows

Placing them on the dirt in front of me

Their vibrant petals contrasting against the black earth

Like fire and ice

I stand up and wipe the dirt from myself

The flowers stare sadly up at me

And I silently hope that wherever you are, you see them

Their blooms cultivated by the sweat and tears

Of my constant efforts to remember, yet forget

But, then again,

The tulips will always remind me

For they’re the markers of your grave

There Is No Use Mourning Over Love Lost

I sit up in my bed, drenched in cold sweat

Trying to ignore the constant sound of my beating heart

Shivering, I wrap the thin sheet around my trembling shoulders

And place my tear-covered face in my hands

There’s a dull, cold throb upon my chest

As though my heart has frozen

The room seems frigid without your presence

And I long for the warmth of your embrace

The dream is but an echo in my empty, useless mind

But it haunts me still

And my hands unconsciously reach out at what had been your ghostly form

The night is still upon the city

The light of the stars is faint

As, one by one, they go out

Crawling from the sanctuary of my bed sheets

I lean upon the windowsill

And gaze upon the crumbling world in which I am forced to reside

The city is dead without you

For with you here, it gave me a purpose, and the city seemed alive

But now, the city drowns in its blood

As it lies, pale-faced, upon the cigarette-littered sidewalk of the universe

I wish not to continue on without you

But you’re already gone, and I have no choice

The tears have disappeared now

They didn’t exist in the first place

And if you ever do decide to return

To this city that’s scabbing over from its injuries

Never to truly heal

The filth flowing over the edges

Like a waterfall of pestilence

Your eyes

The crystalline orbs I had for so long relied on

To give me a reason to get out of bed in the morning

Beg for forgiveness

Your lips pleading for my love

And as much as I want to, I resist the urge to tell you

How I feel

How I don’t need you

How my heart has been burnt and blackened by you

And as you scream for me to save you from your own downfall

I’ll look down, and whisper ‘No.’

And The World Balances Precariously Upon Its Edge

Between the boundaries of truth and fiction

I fall

My body is enveloped

By the cold waters of confusion

My feet touch the ocean floor

And I look at my surroundings

And the water swirls with the shapes

That my imagination creates

There is no life

Besides my heaving chest

As I desperately try to gulp down and contain

What’s remaining of my sanity

And the black lies press in from beside me

While the pale, gentle truth floats effortlessly along

Drifting gently on the ocean’s currents

I close my eyes as my mind is shrouded

With the deception that I’ve existed for

And reality fades away

Shattered Monotony

I sit alone

Although surrounded by others

I have no one

No one for comfort

No one for love

No one I can count on

To keep the pattern of the days regular

I am motionless

And no matter how hard everyone tries

I refuse to enter the world that has been so cruel to me

It was that world that left my life in splinters

Splinters upon which I must step upon

To continue living

They prick my skin

And the ruby red blood only I can see flows out onto the cold ground

I am covered in wounds

But no one can tell

I’m glad that we bleed on the inside

So I won’t have to drown

But I know that I’ll still choke

I am scarred and bruised

Like a fallen fruit

I have been cut down in my prime

And now I lay, bruised and battered

And the unforgiving fates decide to mock me

As I begin to waste away

My life has no pattern

There is no sunlight

Food feels like ash in my mouth

And I refuse to eat

Water provides no relief

It only makes my throat burn

And as I sit alone

Dejected and defeated by the harsh reality

I must come to terms with the truth

That my master is dead

Destiny

I can feel the tears trickle down my face

As my fists clench in rage

I can’t stand the truth

But I must accept it

My existence is about to be cut short

I look upon my grim fate

That sits, encased in fears it will never know

With a jolt of recollection

My heart gives a painful throb

And I don’t want to leave

But I stiffen my resolve

And step forward

To meet my fate