SooYeon Chun

Jean Chun is a rising sophomore at Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts. Besides writing into the midnight hours, she enjoys playing volleyball and listening to music. She is currently building a creative writing portfolio in preparation for university enrollment in America.

Half-Washed Forks

I write the story of every wrinkle on my father’s forehead,
Of what could have been’s and maybe’s.
I like writing of half-washed forks,
Spoons sinking deeper into water.
I write about God,
how he cries every night in bed,
And sometimes forgets to let the light in.
I write about doors opened just a crack,
Of light struggling to squeeze through.
I write about callouses I wish I had
On my too-soft hands,
Of metal bowls shivering in the light.
I write about happy endings,
How they are real for some unlucky characters.
I write an apology to all my creations in my stories
About how I treated them. I write of periods and commas,
Of the wrestle between the mind and the heart,
And how annoying it is that the heart always wins.
I write about the tiny splash of Icarus
When he dove into the water headfirst.
I write about eating chocolate cakes for breakfast,
Made out of whiteboard and paint.
I write about clocks melting,
And the lives of the people
Dwelling behind my eyes,
How I don’t let them ever escape.
I write about God dipping his feet
Into wine. I write about knots in my hair,
And in my stomach. I remember the death of my tiger,
How my tiny breaths couldn’t bring him back.
I write about guilt, and how to surrender.
I tell the story of a mother,
Who breathed into life forty eight children
Just to watch time carry them away.
I write about screams and whispers,
How there really isn’t much difference.
I write about soaring high enough
To poke a hole in the sky
And get a glimpse of heaven.