Samson

Eleanor Bogue (Class of 2027, Studio Art major) sporadically wrote a poem last winter, and after getting it published in American High School Poets: Out Like a Lamb 2023, gained confidence in her work. She enjoys writing about different themes she observes in the world around her, and enjoys playing with words that are full of emotion. 

The gilded statue stands, demanding attention, a frozen spotlight.

Unable to escape his powerful stance, quiet eyes

Unmoving, pinched brow angled up at brilliant gray sky

Searching perhaps, for a paralytic’s cure


Sneakers and bright eyes slip into the garden, tracing footsteps

The gravel path quietly softened under heels of previous tourists

They pass through like clouds, silently blown by spring breath

Reverent noises live among the allium and begonia,

Murmured expressions dance sweetly through greenery.


She tosses a gleaming coin into the pool under his carved feet

Flashing, it sinks to an uneven floor of copper and silver,

Wishes piled under a crystal surface, a testament.

A covenant bargained with a voiceless siren,

Praying aid from a polished, trapped man


Gently rain fell, as she wandered, leaving Samson.

Webbed droplets traced delicate lines down his face, mocking

tears he can not cry

Frustrated stillness, stuck like the souls

Who pay him visits of pennies and smiles

Winter 2023