Young Writers Society

When The Rainbow Blows

My breath quivers in my throat
And I feel cold
My heart feels shallow
And I feel a thousand miles away

Is it two steps home
Or will I go on forever
Is it raining now
Or will the whole world be flooded

My feet slug across the stony tar
My glasses are wet and foggy
Will dawn ever come
Will darkness infect my soul

The hours pass by
Has the Sun set yet
Or is it just the flame in my heart
Extinguished by the sands of time

Lightning stalks like a flower
Was it this all along
Thunderheads spinning webs
Catching light like flies

The rain never passes
But the clouds drift away
And I see a rainbow above the horizon
Birds flutter into a brand new sky

I sit down on a bench
And breathe a breath deep but happy
As children run by squealing with joy
Kites and balls in their hands

And I think about the emptiness of sorrow
Breathing peacefully
As trees sway in the breeze
Branches sighing gleefully

And I think about the beauty of this world
Wind blowing like a prism of colours
Sparkling and glimmering
In the brilliance of sunlight

Precious

I can hear the mechanical sounf of a drill
As it clanks further into the earth in a spiral of churning soil
My breath is heavy in my throat as I imagine this assault on nature

And I think of wasted water drip-dripping from a tap
Forming a pool of glimmering blue clarity
On the muddy earth that slowly absorbs it

And I remember my despair when I saw our garden
Loamy soil empty where flowers had always spurted
And dry brackish succulents fallen over like children off a bike

My feet scrape the grey brick that lines our driveway
And the eroded white concrete patio that covers my feet in dust
Wandering what it would have looked like with grass and trees plentifully watered

And I sniff the cold morning air
Stepping onto the rain watered grass
Amazed by all the new sprouts

I settle on one knee and brush the fairy webs of tiny blue speckles
And watch the yellow flowers wavering in the fresh breeze
But my eye catches onto the white drooping petals of a lily

And I breathe in the sneeze-inducing pollen
That it sprinkles so heavily in the air
Hoping its seedlings will grace the earth

And that's it isn't it
All this commotition for the most precious resource of all
Water

The Terrible Truth

The nocturnal call
Of the wilderness distracts
Me from the long path
That awaits my soul as I
Settle down and light a fire

Is that really
What I'm so scared of, is it
Or is it the truth
That frightens me so, the wild
Darkness inside that kills me

The World

My tree
Was broken from the start
Like a piece of shattered glass
Sprawled across the floor
Like prisms of hope
And when I stared at its branches
All drooping dead
I saw the most beautiful flower

Drifting In The Wind

I saw the most beautiful flower
And plucked at its petals
And tossed them like white serenity
I can't imagine hope without the tranquility
Of knowing somwhere out there
They're still swaying in the wind

Save Me

A voice echoed down the halls
Its booming sound rattled the glasses in the cabinets
And delicately painted porcelain clattered to the ground in shattered pieces

My footsteps echoed on the cold wooden floor
And my hands tore at the vintage wallpaper
The heavy sound of my breathing in my ears

Was this how it always been as a child
Back when I had hidden
Knowing the giant would soon come if I couldn't make it to the bath in time

I remember the fear, I remember the thrill
But I don't remember the heavy feeling in my stomach
As I close the door behind me with a bang

I see the portrait of me in the foyer
But I keep on going
Until I fall down on the dewy lawn

And cry salty tears
I'm scared, isn't it that
Not that old childhood fear but a real fear

Fear of the unknown
Would those gnarled hands wrench into his rusty old car
Would he just strangle me

Was this the end
Are these my last words
"Goodbye cruel world."

I swipe away the tears
With a soft hand
And whisper again

"Hell,
I'm coming.
Heaven... I'm not worth it, am I?"

Back To Normal

With a heavy heart
My hands scroll slowly down the screen
My breath is stale in my throat
And my unbrushed hair seems rough and stony

My eyes read
Slowly scroll down the screen like a mouse
"Lockdown Has Been Extended"
Again

The words bite into my soul
Like wolves into a carcass
I feel like falling over on the ground
And never getting up again

COVID
Is like a cloud over my head
I'm stuck inside again
I still remember when I thought that it would be like a zombie plague

And maybe when my parents were that sick
And I watched from the other room as my father called the world
Contemplating whether he would call the ambulance next
Or hope she would last the night

And I still remember
How I had cried that night
Wondering if I would die next
And now Lockdown's back again

This time I might not be the one crying

Lost Between The Seasons

Is Summer finally done
Or is this just a wisp of Winter
Freezing mornings and hot days

Is that Spring again
Or is that Autumn
Shouldn't leaves be falling off the trees again

Or is Summer not finished yet
In the grasps of April
Two months into Autumn

I can still feel the February heat
The burning breeze of Africa
Against my back as I struggle to keep running

My feet stomping into gravel
Push further and faster
Hoping one day I'll reach my destination

As my hands pull back the branches
And I veer onto the dirt road
Baked by the "Autumn Sun"

In Nature finally
I run till I'm gasping for breath
Sprinting kilometres before I collapse

But I force myself up again
And stare out at the view
I wonder how long I can live here before they find me

Will You Ever Look At Me Again?

Have you seen the flowers in the park?
Have you seen how their petals flourish
like silky threads of satin?
Have you smelt the dew upon their stalks in the early morning breeze?

Do you still hate me
or is it the memory of those beautiful blossoms licked in roaring flames that hurts you?
My heart still cries at the smouldering smell of Spring
and my eyes still radiate the whispers of fire screaming at the heavens.

And even as I cup the bud-filled water with my rough hands
and watch how speckled nectar blows in the wind
my chest tightens and my breath whistles in my throat.
And even though I blink tears streams still trickle down my cheeks.

Will you ever forgive me like I never could?
Will you ever forget the burning memory like I never should?
Or will you forever sit upon the rickety windowsill
and gaze into the deep waters beneath the lake's rippling surface?