Poetry

April was National Poetry Month! Take a look at the poetry listed below:

Sunrise

By: Emma Shi

Blues fade into purples,

Purples fade into pinks,

which melt into salmon

and golden white.

Colors spread across the sky 

like spilled watercolor.

The trees are nothing but shadows,

the clouds are nothing but backdrop.

The hardships of the day ahead

are nothing but irrelevant,

and mistakes are nothing but

Opportunities to learn.

Never before had I thought

that colors this bright existed,

that snow could be stained so vivid--

Could a rainbow have been more stunning?

My once all-too-familiar surroundings are suddenly unrecognizable;

The sky has been lit on fire.

And to think that this happens every morning,

before most of us awake.

Why does nature hide its beauty?

Sometimes, you have to let night come to see the sunrise.

Sea of Tears

By: Emma Shi

Welcome to the Sea of Tears,

Where darkness presses in on you

And dark water laps at your knees.

Here is where all the tears you have ever shed

Come to gather, to collect.

There is no shore here, just an endless stretch of tears.

There’s no point trying to keep dry, because it is fact

That you will get wet no matter what–

Even if you bring a canoe or even a yacht, 

There is no hiding from emotion.

I come here often, 

to stand silently in the water

To let the tears run fluidly through the gaps between my fingers,

Trying to remember

Which tears were shed when,

Why the waterline of my Sea is so much higher than everyone else’s.

Some people pretend this sea doesn’t exist,

But that’s only delaying the inevitable, 

Like erasing the name of a landmark from a map.

But I know that ignorance is a temporary solution,

And that this sea will rise one day

To form a tsunami,

And drown you.

So why run when you’re going to die anyway?

The tears aren’t cold, but rather hot

Like how they feel on your face when they first come trickling

Out your eyes, down your cheeks.

Facing sorrow, no matter how painful it is,

Is the only way to tame it.

So tell me, when do you plan to visit your own Sea of Tears?

Where the Willow Trees Grow

By: Emma Shi

Have you been down to the marsh,

Where the willow trees grow,

The uncharted lands

Where nobody goes?

Have you been to the marsh,

Where the willow trees sway,

Where the birds perch on branches

And never fly away?

Have you been to the marsh,

Where the willow trees sigh,

Where the wind blows through

And never dies?

Have you been to the marsh,

Where the willow trees reach

Up to the sky,

Where the eagles screech?

Have you been to the marsh,

Where the willow trees stand,

Thin and wispy

Yet tall and grand?

Have you ever been,

Have you ever seen,

Where the marsh dries up,

And the willow trees lean?

A depressing place to be, to see,

But would you rather be a willow tree?