AWE’s Annual Arts & Writing Contest

Flying, by Lucy Burt
Middle School Poetry Winner

Watching birds fly

Up in the sky

I wish that I could too

Above the fires of corruption

Soaring over the hidden truths

But I’m stuck on this uncertain ground

And my wings are long overdue.

Peer outside

I see

Disguise, demise, disquiet, outcry

The world is screaming out

Everyone has doubt

You can’t deny

We’re barely getting by

Watching birds fly

Up in the sky

I wish that I could too.

This world needs a fix

This world needs a reminder on how

Ethicality isn’t a trick

Maybe sometimes, you want to fly

Away from these problems

But we should be down here

Even if prejudice is near

Because wishing someone else will step up

Is a wish that won’t help this storm let up

Although there’s those fires of corruption

And those horrible hidden truths

We need to still try and

Evolve,

Transform,

Grow.

For without change, there’s no use

We may not believe we can fabricate a new beginning

We may not believe we can make it better

But if no one else can, we should make an effort ourselves.

Together.