Young Writers Society

Probably my favorite.

25/30

Falling is such a familiar feeling
Tumbling down rocky slopes and
Splitting my skin on coarse ground
Standing up
Dusting off
Starting over
Again
And again
And again
And never really knowing why
My feet will not stay on higher slopes
Why gravity clutches my soul with
Boundless relish
And why I have never learned
The art of being carried gently

A bit stranger this time, but meh. My life is strange.

26/30

And all I see is black.

Stranded in waterless places
(They call them deserts, I hear
But who would know if they are right?)
Where the air burns in my lungs
And the sun blisters my skin
(Those are the shadows
But we cannot tell light from dark in this place)
The only noise is the pounding of my heart
(That's your brain begging to be let out
Listen to it, listen)
Where are the faces I long to see?
Why does everything
(Listen, listen, listen)
hurt
(Listen to us listen)
so
(listen!)
(We are not silent.)
We
are not
silent.

27/30

Grasping in the dark
You hold my head and whisper sweetly
And feed me sugared bits of lies
The jagged edges prick my lips, but
That's okay, you tell me
Blood makes life taste sweeter.

Fleeing through the night
You hunt me down
And breathe against my neck
The bitter taste of suicide is evident
You yank the leash, but
Too late now
The collar's snapped

Broken on the floor
You grind the pieces beneath your heel
And spit ash and dust in my soul
The film of moondust is fading from my tongue
This looks like the end now, but
I hear a voice
It calls my name

Breathing in the sunlight
You hold me up now
And carry me among clouds
I've fallen in love with liquid starlight
The darkness blinded me, but
I've been found
I no longer write love letters to the shadows

28/30

Silence seeps through the cracks of
You and I and everything in between
Night is falling now
But we're not ready

When did tragedy become a game?
When did laughter become a tragedy?
Why is the sky raining fire
And why isn't your hand in mine?

Let the echoes fade
Sunlight doesn't live in silhouettes
Let go of the breath you've been holding onto
Since the sun stood overhead

You'll not see the sun for a while yet, perhaps
Not 'til this night is through
But I've heard starlight shines the brightest
On the other side of the river

29/30

These days I've more questions than answers
The sky has made its way under my feet
And I no longer understand the languages of humanity
But I think that's okay.

The stars tickled my toes today
And I sung out into the darkness
And the earth was not there
To snatch the song from my lips

Walking breathless among the clouds
I've never felt so free
Thoughts trickle like sand between my toes
And the sun mimics my smile

Those still earthbound often point and wonder
At the weight of the world above my head
But I imagine they haven't seen the angels
That dance through moonbeams with me.

30/30

For so long I've cradled these promises
Now chipped and bruised
Slowly fading to dust
Afraid to grasp at the world
For fear of letting go of you

In my dream
You swept away the curtain of shadow
And I melted in the light of you
But when I wake, darkness remains
And my fingers are too full of sand

I pray for the courage to wake
To stretch stunted fingers again
To reach beyond every fear of night
And find you standing so close

You know I've always been afraid
Of stumbling through the dark
But when will longing drown our fear?

Perhaps if I close my eyes
One more time
I'll awake to the sight of you
And you'll carry me away from here

Plus two extras because I lost track.

31/30

They speak often
With their silken voices and
Pointed teeth
And painted tongues
Of falling in love.

I've never been one for
Crashing blind through endless space
Uncontrolled,
Drawn inescapably down.
I imagine it more like stepping.

One graceful step after
Another
Carefully controlled
Elegantly poised
Chin held high, shoulders back
Breath held
Waiting

For something to happen.

Step by careful step
Into the unknowable darkness of
All that is strange and new and wonderful
And precarious.
Drawn by curiosity that drowns out
Fear and sense and the thought of falling
With practiced ease.

Perhaps it is not so different after all.



32/30

There is one experience I will never forget-
Silently drinking the stars.
They slid down my tongue
And burned my throat with passion
One by one,
Leaving infinity an endless night.

It is indescribable-
The taste of liquid diamonds and fire,
Ice cool and burning at once,
Now residing in your belly.
A pile of embers
Thick and uncomfortable.

I wonder some nights,
Staring at the empty sky,
If I shall ever be able to open my mouth
And set them free,
And if they could ever return to a world so vast
After living so long in silence.