Olivia Yun (15)
the portal
it’s as if somewhere from when
she was on the playground swings
to walking the halls of high school
a portal opened
in her heart
the portal grew,
uprooted and ate a piece of her,
then transported it
to a faraway place
so she observed the world around her
and tried to duplicate it
tried to mimic
what should have been normal
tried to patch up the portal
it didn’t work.
everyday she searches for the faraway place
on dates
during family dinners
talking to friends
and sometimes then she can see it in the distance
so she runs toward it
sometimes she gets so close she can taste
the sweet, fresh air
sometimes she can hear
the notes of a song
she’s never heard, but it’s
somehow familiar
her fingers reach out
grasping, trying to hold on
but like a ghost, it floats right through her
like a magician, it disappears into thin air
and she’s yanked back to square one
she can’t reach the faraway place anymore
she doesn’t see love and energy
and emotion and feelings
she just sees gray.
and so the portal widens
Olivia Yun is a freshman from Massachusetts and enjoys playing soccer. She has always liked writing, but only recently started poetry.
the portal
it’s as if somewhere from when
she was on the playground swings
to walking the halls of high school
a portal opened
in her heart
the portal grew,
uprooted and ate a piece of her,
then transported it
to a faraway place
so she observed the world around her
and tried to duplicate it
tried to mimic
what should have been normal
tried to patch up the portal
it didn’t work.
everyday she searches for the faraway place
on dates
during family dinners
talking to friends
and sometimes then she can see it in the distance
so she runs toward it
sometimes she gets so close she can taste
the sweet, fresh air
sometimes she can hear
the notes of a song
she’s never heard, but it’s
somehow familiar
her fingers reach out
grasping, trying to hold on
but like a ghost, it floats right through her
like a magician, it disappears into thin air
and she’s yanked back to square one
she can’t reach the faraway place anymore
she doesn’t see love and energy
and emotion and feelings
she just sees gray.
and so the portal widens
Olivia Yun is a freshman from Massachusetts and enjoys playing soccer. She has always liked writing, but only recently started poetry.