Treasures

Our editors have decided to feature one of our talented poets and artists exclusively this month. Mackenzie J. is a ninth-grader here at Holicong, and we hope you enjoy this spotlight post. Like an exhibit in an art museum, it gives a broad overview of her body of work. 

Ignorance

 

Those Little Things Left Behind

The memorabilia of a life once lived

Forgotten now, scored and scarred

 

An Averagely Abnormal Day

Catch glimpses of untruthful things

The shadows in the alley

 

Promise Me

You're here to stay

Don't let him take you away

 

One for Sorrow, Two for Joy

The face of a friend

And a smiling spider

 

Homeward Bound

Round up the bodies

Rumbling wagon down the road

 

Teasing, Laughter, and a Sense of Unease

The setting sun that graces red faces

And the monster cloaked in blindfold and smile

 

The Absentee God

Fearful of the world she raised

Now hidden from the mistakes she's made

 

Empty Pages

Old and slashed by fragmented glass

Like the tracks left in the lost nightmare field

 

For Your Own Good

He'll always insist

So twist your grimace into a grin

 

Memory Lane

For a faceless friend

For a recollection curdled sweet

 

The Fear Effect

The sweeping plague of paranoia

Oh, the things it makes us do

 

Bloody Steeples

Gifted help you never wanted

While your shadow cries against stained glass windows

 

Ignorance Aflame

Like scorched paper in a lit hearth

"You'll never miss it", the monster promises

 

Small-Town Politics

A wordless stare

A last hope snatched

 

You Don't Exist

Just a wraith of what you used to be

Even if you can't recall

 

The Lion's Head Door Knockers

Silent sentinels of once-quiet library

Split by shouting of once-close friends

 

The Presence of Loneliness

A bleak repetition of mornings past

Amidst contemptuous ghosts and guardian shadows

 

Curiosity Killed the Cat

Stuck in a cycle, tricked by lies

Trace the footsteps you forgot you left

 

Wishing on Grounded Stars

Cast yourself before ever-watchful eyes

Search for that monster, your brother's epitaph

 

A Step in the Wrong Direction

To grasp the hand of that silk-woven man

They never did see how you tried to tear free

 

When Push Comes to Shove

Run away runaway, shadow touched child

"Don't trust him", it whispered, so why wouldn't you listen?

 

"Ignorance is bliss, after all."

 

The Ashes of a Burning Heart

 

How does it feel, my dear

To lose the best thing that ever happened to you?

To have that spark in your chest go out

Like the mirror's cracking glass

To have what once shone

Go dark and dull

Lost where it can’t be saved

 

Yes, your mind still thinks

But does your heart still beat?

Or have you left it in the ashes

Where his fire once roared?

 

Oh, Dear Lover of Crows

 

I have heard people whisper

That if the crows love you

They will always lead you home

So every time I saw one

Perched outside my door

Sleek and black and ever watchful

With those far too intelligent eyes

I would leave a piece of bread

In the hopes they would love me

Enough to guide me back

No matter how far I wandered

But I do not know yet

If they love me enough to bring me home

For I have not yet left

And maybe never will

 

An Old Story

 

Someone always has to leave first

This is a very old story

I loved you

There is no other

And you left

Version of this tale

The ending will be the same as the beginning:

Soft

And sad

And blurry around the edges