Explaining poetry to the aliens
Mackenzie M ( 8th Grade )
i don ’ t know if there ’ s rain where you come from , or if the sky cries in fire or not at all . i don ’ t know if there are sky-mirror lakes , rivers or swollen creeks or oceans with waves big enough to drown in . aliens , what do i know of drowning ? sometimes i dream i am a boat being swallowed in the rain---do you have boats ? or do you brave uncharted waters alone ? maybe i ’ m projecting , aliens . maybe where you come from there is no such thing as alone . maybe the waters on your planet are clear enough to see your own reflection without the waves breaking the mirror . sometimes i dream i am a boat being swallowed in the rain on a black ocean under a white sky . the waves swallow me and i let myself drown . poetry is the ocean and poetry is the boat and poetry is the way i bring myself back to the surface . aliens , i ’ m not sure if i am making sense . this isn ’ t what you asked me to write , but you need to understand that we ’ re both from strange planets , places where water is poetry and drowning is a lot like flying .
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