Author:

Email: ehansen@greeleyschools.org

Submission:

Disguised in animosity and briskly walking
She boarded the ship
The sea gently rocking

She could smell adventure in the salty ocean air
The constable eyed her strangely
As she chewed on her hair

She tried to control her breathing
Which would have been easier if she hadn’t been grieving

The entanglement, still fresh in her mind
Had left a scar on her soul
And her heart in a bind

With a stomach full of dread
And cloudy thoughts in her head
She looked hopefully at the golden horizon
Laying not far ahead

The constable gave the captain a nod
The ship, weighed down by desperate souls,
Embarked on its journey
Beyond the familiar shoals

Unmasked, no longer shrouded in tenebrosity
She left the ship
Briskly walking
Venturing into this unknown land
Not a thing in her pockets
No coin in her hand

The wind blew through holes in her tattered ruby coat
Reminding her she was still alive
Reminding her of the knife that almost slit her throat

She steadied herself
She steadied her heart
No longer would she be consumed by fear
She was determined
She would not play that part

If there was anything she had learned after years of fleeing

She was not an ephemeral being