Photo by Donald Teel
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“Sweet Meat” and “Flat Cola” by Magnolia Wang ’19 received a Silver Key and Honorable Mention respectively from the 2018 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Enjoy Magnolia’s poetry!
Sweet Meat
This time
a man
with a beard approaches, dressed
in the night, clothed
in starless
sky.
Is there anything you can spare
He asks
Out of fear
I freeze
Eyes fixed on the golden street light
contaminated with moths. He comes so close I can see his grey beard, bristles
dancing wildly
to loose mumbles.
A greedy
rum-corrupted
stench lurks from his yellow
Teeth motioning to my dinner
He is gone
I stare down at the foam carton before me, its clear beads of water gathering like tangy
sweat on my forehead. It overflows
with a tangle of scarlet legs
freshly ripped
from carapaces of king crabs, juice dripping. I bite
into the sweet meat
finding
refuge
in its blinding
succulence.
Flat Cola
do you love her? I hear her whisper
I sip the last drops of my flat Coke in the corner,
observing
trite lines on your forehead,
with no more bubbles to burn my tongue,
no more sugar to mess with my head. But
the red of your wool sweater pulses
Set me free
it bleats and pleads with all
its might
it saves me. it drowns the misery meant for my ears.