for
someone who has hungrily devoured books for hoursdaysmonthsyears
uncovered the secret behind the alphabet
worn the perfume of old aging books behind ears
lapped up contents of a dictionary like milk
it
is a curious thing for others when I open my lips and speech eludes me.
they
ask me why over sloshing bitter cocktails and trimmed fingers and dusty eyes
I
tell them I am timid shy bashful shy
—hand them a basketful of lies—
they
nod, uninterested and tie cherry knots with their clicking tongues.
when
in truth,
I
am storing up all the words I drink in through my eyes my ears my fingers and
shelving them in the crevices and recesses of my joints and stitching them to
the shells of my cells as a reminder that I am
ALIVE
Shirley Kuo
is a tenth-grader currently residing in California. She has always aspired to
be a writer of all sorts: short stories, novels, poems, essays, etc.
Stunning.
ReplyDeletethis is so perfect and beautiful and elegant, and any comment made cannot nearly compare to the eloquence of this poem.
ReplyDeleteso beautiful silence :)
ReplyDeleteSuperbe ! Bravo ! You're writing is very sensible and flowing, I love it ^^
ReplyDeletecherry knots. :)
ReplyDeletesplendid piece.
so beautiful and eloquent! i love how the words picked depict the passion of the narrator! this is AMAZINGLY written!!!
ReplyDeleteWow! Shirley. I have read this 5 times now, and every time I start to tell you my thoughts, I need to go back making sure I do not over look what you are tell or asking us, as the reader. Now, that I have come down from the amazement of how well written this is, I need to ask you, if shyness is a basket of lies. What is the truth? You are storing the words, but yet speech eludes you. If storing these words remind you, that you are alive. When will you tell me what eludes you. Is there more I need to hear from you, I have put down my cocktail and my cherry is now knotted. So I am ready to listen. Please tell me more.
ReplyDeleteUncle Craig
that's so amazing, just keep up with your feelings.
ReplyDeleteJoanne Zuk
you are not alone...
ReplyDelete