By Sophia Igonina
(contest winner)
I wander! The green curves before me, stretching out And meeting the golden veil of the sun That when it meets with the soft grass surface It explodes to a comforting dazzle. I wander! And the heavy air of April rain, Swallowing the molecules of the green, It sways and rocks and drugs me, As I am pulled towards the silence in the midst of the Meadows and forests and fields, And it is so very loud. I wander, And I try to recall how the voices of people sound. Not the familiar people, I still remember them, But the voices of strangers on the street, in the Shop, on the bus that I haven’t heard in a month. It is so very loud, And I wonder if I will ever need to hear other voices Again when this is over, I will have the green curves and treetops left, I will have gotten used to them, and I will have Forgotten people even more. Do I go back? The green curves and the treetops, they were there Before, but they were not mine, They fell into my arms when everyone was forced Into their homes, When everyone was forced away from people and Suffered under all the silence, This symphony of green noise fell into my arms and I fell into myself. And since then it sways and rocks and drugs me, And I would stay forever. I would stay here under the round lilac sky and the Peach clouds And I would lay on the cutting velvet of the green Curves and I would breathe and listen to the noise. And maybe after being in the midst of all these colors, I would forget not only the sounds but the looks of People, And the world would spin and the damp air, wearing The scent of summer rain would hold me.