Page 12 - The Muse 2021

Refugee
One day a happy family The next day refugees
Affected by war
Abandoning whatever they could not carry Their once beautiful house
Once full of elegant furniture and art
Shaved of its beauty by bullet holes ••• It was completely torn apart
The family once lived in that house
They had a crib for their baby
A bunk bed for the children
A queen-sized bed that was yet to be made
The family left in a rush
Death was coming in from both sides
With no clue of who would kill them or save their lives
They had a coin flip chance of going in the direction Of someone who would help them
Two hundred meters to the left
Stood four graves
Each with a rock indented with each one’s name
Of the five only the son survived Left on his own
With one goal which was to survive
The family was not prepared for what was to come Not knowing
That one day
War would show up on their front lawn
On their front lawn
-Joaquin Moggio, Grade 7
Blue Ribbon
Homophobia
The closet is dark
Yet he can’t emerge
One step away
And he’s started a purge With the monstrous demons That scold his existence
Yet somehow, he acts
With such persistence
He buries his head
And hides his face
And as he hears footsteps His mind starts to race Frantically forcing Himself away
While the world awaits For church on Sunday
Watching his country Evolve day by day
People like him
Having things to say Nothing he did
Deserved such pain
Yet he tells the whole world Anyways
Believing the stories
That he has been told
He watches the window And embraces the scolds Disowned from his family Kicked from his home But happy to know
That he’s not alone
-Eliza Olrich, Grade 7
12