The Unwavering Stillness of our Souls
by Salina Bhatti, Presbyterian Ladies’ College
Finalist, Years 7 – 8, written poetry
thank you, grass,
for splitting the pavement upon which I stand
for choosing the scream of defiance
over the sickly sweetness of silence.
for showing me that survival
looks like desperation disguised as delicate beauty.
thank you, wind,
for carrying my heaving breath
further than I am capable of travelling
for whispering and brushing past me
as if it were a friend I’ll never meet
for reminding me of the confines of my mortal body.
thank you, sun,
for touching my face
without the burden of asking,
for burning seemingly endlessly
yet I know you will collapse and die the death we all will,
and your warmth will leave
smoke behind with the ashes laying at my feet.
thank you, stars,
for dying so exquisitely and beautifully,
that I mistook it for feeble hope,
for constantly reminding me
that distance means absence
and that a human soul can love
something it will never hold.
thank you, oceans,
for breathing before I could,
for proving to me that even tides
are twisted and tugged by strings and chains
a demented prisoner
calling its captor their beloved.
thank you, time,
for giving and taking,
with your same, cruel hand
for letting me taste life
inside the walls of a second
before crushing me
between two pairs of gruelling teeth.
thank you, silence,
for being my greatest comfort
and the most sickening cage,
for proving that absence
will crave presence with the want of a starved animal.
thank you, life,
for ripping me open,
for stitching me back
roughly, carelessly, with the threads
that will always come loose.
I await your stitching hand.
Want to read more poems? Explore the other Years 7 – 8 finalists.