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