2011 - Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science

38
Reminiscence of a
Communist China
When my father tells me
Of his childhood dreams
He tugs up the corners of his mouth
A rare, warm smile enlightens
His golden skin
Thin skin flaps above his eyes
Fold into rainbows
His scruffy aftershave
Disappears—and
A moment, a flash
A glimmer of light
His youth and innocence, I see—brief
Like his childhood dreams
When my father tells me
Of his childhood ordeals
His amber eyes dodge away
From the sunlight
Recoiling into a dark, swirling pearl—
A world of abyss
Lips curling, chapped and scarred
Like the gates unraveling a story untold
Fisting his shirt
He reflects back
Upon the death of
My aunt, his sister
Who died of starvation
Upon the death of
Ye Ye, my grandfather, his dad
Who died opposing
The government of Mao
The same government
That crushed his childhood dreams
Michelle Zeng
Cadaver Canvas
You crouched there, nothing short of cleavage and tattoos
crossing both your fingers and your line of sight with mine
as we prowled for four-leaf clovers on our high school lawn.
I don’t mind the cold-shoulders now, and do you still get
those overdue haircuts to your dyed red, brittle hair?
Do you still drive that red convertible,
perfect for sailing moonlit suburban streets of Georgia?
I ducked while riding to avoid the bite
of the wintry draft of wind diving through the backseat,
using the window shield as its springboard.
You stepped on the brakes beside an unknown driveway
as I dared to uproot a marigold from a healthy garden
to decorate your rearview mirror;
my exact location in your life now, so it seems.
Now ink sinks into your pale back, blood vessels dilating,
feathers forming in cobalt hue, violet depicting the jaw line
of the Roman goddess Victoria;
forever to complement innate beauty.
Your watery ocean eyes are imprinted in my mind,
forever to complement what we never were.
Darrian Kelly
Flying High
Emerald Litke
3rd Place—Photography Competition
Photograph