Bittersweet Symphony
Bittersweet Symphony
It is…
a gift
a world
where pearlescent mockingjays sing
chasing each other through the sky
it is a gift to see the leaves return in spring
budding from their own dormant ashes once again
it is a gift to see a summer’s sky
when the clouds are gone and the sun shines bright
when nothing is there to obstruct the world from the warmth of the universe
when one can do nothing but look and wonder
it is a thousand little kindnesses
a reminder of who we are and where we have been
it is a gift to see each new sunrise
an honest tapestry, of struggle and sacrifice
a flawed beauty, the earth’s face a mirror of our own
a cruel miracle
a gift
Is it?
to live
like this
with bitten, bloody tongues
nipping at the ankles of brothers
feeding on the death of those who did not make it
to live yet another fleeting life
each fibre humming with anticipation
watching on with fiery eyes and silent lips
with inaction in the fingertips and ignorance in the eyes
can this be called a gift?
or is it a thousand little deaths?
a splinter housed deep in an undeserving soul, and yet
the burning sky is an emblem of a new beginning
a million mockingjays with silver songs
a golden sun peeking out from a darkened raincloud
the first warmth of returning summer
is what it must be after all.
Rachel Jones is a junior at SCAPA Lafayette and a co-director for the Young Writer’s Conference. Whenever she gets free time, she often enjoys writing absurdist fiction and hanging out with her dogs (Maxine and Zooey).