Ottavia Paluch (14)
Anxiety In Exile
Behind these stained
steel poles are
rigid, indolent beings
Hands meet cold, merciless metal,
forgetting as hard as
forgiving—
fingers turn to stalactites
in this tempest of snow
On these floors
are testaments and tributes to
the x and the why;
of iambic pentameter
of chemical trauma,
written hieroglyphically
like an antique in a
futuristic world.
On these ramparts
are diagrams of dwellings
that take too long and
are too far to reach;
fabricated sceneries,
hospices with no ingress
to open;
to close.
And in these hearts
stress is flexed in every muscle,
anxiety leaves each soul in exile,
and internal blazes and wildfires rage.
For now, there is no escaping.
Ottavia Paluch is currently fourteen years old. This is her first published work in a literary journal, and she is hoping to have her work published in similar literary journals for teens in the future. She lives in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
Anxiety In Exile
Behind these stained
steel poles are
rigid, indolent beings
Hands meet cold, merciless metal,
forgetting as hard as
forgiving—
fingers turn to stalactites
in this tempest of snow
On these floors
are testaments and tributes to
the x and the why;
of iambic pentameter
of chemical trauma,
written hieroglyphically
like an antique in a
futuristic world.
On these ramparts
are diagrams of dwellings
that take too long and
are too far to reach;
fabricated sceneries,
hospices with no ingress
to open;
to close.
And in these hearts
stress is flexed in every muscle,
anxiety leaves each soul in exile,
and internal blazes and wildfires rage.
For now, there is no escaping.
Ottavia Paluch is currently fourteen years old. This is her first published work in a literary journal, and she is hoping to have her work published in similar literary journals for teens in the future. She lives in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.