read it
Had to write a poem for lit the other day, modeled off of some other one Hartung gave us, and this is what I came up with. It's totally sad, but I think it came out really good. Tell me what you think!! ~alyse
"Theme for American Literature, Honors”
The instructor said,
Go home and write
A page tonight.
And let that page come out of you-
Then, it will be true
I wonder if it’s that simple?
Like the simplicity in her hazel eyes that can be read like a book,
The tears overflowing, crawling down her cheeks,
Leaving stains on her baby-face.
The day shines bright
And the twitter of birds reminds her that time isn’t standing still,
That the memories aren’t lost,
That they’re there in her heart, forever to stay,
Whether out in the open,
Or locked away.
She chokes back her tears as she turns her head away,
Only to be greeted with the view of the trees from outside,
The utter and complete freedom of the woods,
The lack of turmoil,
The sense of tranquility resting in the tangle of brush.
The red-rimmed eyes of the little girl sitting across from her
Greets her vision, and the tears flow again,
In a steady torrent, dripping down her face,
Soaking the shirt which she cried into,
Ashamed to show her face to anyone who would look.
It’s a time for truth.
Their truth was in their words, their actions.
Her truth was in the tears crawling down her cheeks,
In the ache in her stomach, in her heart,
In the spinning of her head, in the agony in her mind.
The crystal truth left a trail down her cheeks,
Staining them.
Will this page be one of truths?
Or will it be one of hidden lies,
Of secrets left untold?
It is the truth,
As brilliant as the shinning tears coursing down her cheeks,
Or the sobs leaving her mouth.
It is for you to read,
To digest and take in.
Will this poem be tear-soaked,
As on that day,
Or will it be dry with the unshed tears?
I guess you will decide
When you absorb these words, for all to see.
For all to see what lies behind those silent, hazel eyes.
Can you hear their forbidden cry,
Or are you fooled, like so many before,
By their tainted, innocent lies?
See her world, laced in tears,
Her truth covered by her veil of soundless hazel.