After

After - Xuan Vitti (Edison High School, Tenth Grade)

"why am I grieving

when the storm is still

why don’t I wander

when the road isn’t filled

what do they search for

in the weeds

the dirt

the earth’s molten core

what is there, that I do not see

from the soil

looking up to the stars

stars have a core too

but we do not grab

we crane our necks

unsleeping

and gape

at twin candles

one family

sewn with empty threads

does it grieve?”