Page 8 - Horizon Elementary Literary Submissions 2022

The people gather immensely around me, furrowing their eyebrows.
Some ever so slightly part their lips,
Some scream, eyes wide, veins visible, terror and empathy shining through their concern. “Why are they looking at me?”
“Is my hair greasy?”
“Is my stomach bloated?”
“Are my lips dry?”
With every thought, their screams grow louder and deeper with fear
They shift their eyes towards my ankle
I look down and see a wide wound
Growing deeper with every self deprecating thought that comes to mind
No one is afflicting this wound upon me, including my own hands
But it is visible to those who can see through my purposeful emotional wall
Over my left shoulder is a mirror
“My hair is fine”
“I have no bloat”
“My lips are great just the way they are”
The wound closes
The people wipe their tears
They continue on with their lives
The wound is gone.
But the scar isn’t.
“Invisible Wounds”
Nora K. Lakewood Catholic Academy Mrs. Alli Metsch Eighth Grade