Young Writers Society

I have chestnut hair that flows to my back.

I have skin warmer than the sun.

I have laughter that will make you laugh back.

But the one thing I don’t have,

is true love.

Try as I might, I cannot stay pure.

Try as I might, you see me as a lure.

Please cast me away,

after all that I’ve done,

for one thing I don’t have,

is true love.

My mind goes back to the day when I was drenched in bathwater,

where the days grew old and the sun grew hotter.

I had chestnut hair slicked to my back.

I had a true love that I now lack.

I had eyes darker than the olives in the grove.

I became nothing but treasures untold.

Oh, forgive me, God, we both know not how we’ve hurt.

Hurt not just ourselves, but the other, they have burned.

I’ve begged for forgiveness,

That You may have heart,

but my lover knows more of mercy,

and all I want is to depart.

My mind goes back to the night after I soaked in bathwater,

When my prayers fell away and I dulled like copper.

I had a pure heart that was filled like a trove.

And you had emptied it, so I felt less like gold.

“What point is there in trying?” I would tell myself.

I could love two at once, and I could be held.

Soft whispers in the night of breaking promises,

Looking into your lovely irises,

“I’m just a girl,” I would tell myself,

“Breaking rules doesn’t mean I’m unwell.”

My mind goes back to the day when I was drenched with bathwater,

when you carried me away like a lamb to the slaughter.

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Hello! There are a lot of side characters in the Bible with untold stories, and I really wanted to show the perspective of Bathsheba. Though I was hoping to give her a short story, I realized that her story in the Bible is more emotion than action, and I thought this would fit her well. For context, King David sees Bathsheba bathing and feels lust for her (btw, she's married to Uriah the Hittite). He then commits adultery with Bathsheba, and once she is revealed pregnant, he calls her husband from battle to care for her (I think- I need to look into it more). Uriah refuses to come back, so David has him killed and marries his now-widowed wife. We don't see a lot of Bathsheba in the Bible, but her and Uriah's stories are definitely worth exploring because there is more to King David than the story of Goliath. I hope you enjoyed this!