Blue
by Diane Zhou and Jenny Han, graduating in '22
January 27, 2021

"Kensho" by Angelina Ochoa, Canyon Crest Academy '22
CW: domestic abuse
Drifting off,
I am abandoned in a world of blue
Freedom reaches her hand out, promising me a new era
Liberty continues the same farce
But reaching for their hands, I grasp nothingness
I am drowning and the blue floods me with shame
With the grumbling of my children’s stomachs,
the lingering stench of bloodshed,
the yelling of my husband,
the alcohol on his breath,
the bruises on my cheek.
With a paralyzing fear
How will I stop what comes next?
I thought I was a woman, a sister, a wife, a mother
But I am a coward.
No, not even worthy of being called a coward
Life is a void, excruciating and eradicating.
I wonder and I wander, lost like a compass without its true north
When did it become about the machines and the riches and the cheering of the masses?
The world told me no, a woman is not worthy
And he told me no, I was nothing, every night he came home from hell
The wind asked me where I was going
I told him, I don’t know
The wind asked me who I was
I asked him, why do you care?
Does my one protest make me a sinner?
Or does my very birth make me a sinner?
I can only hear the cries and the curses and the screams
I let the blue consume me
But when I finally wake up,
All that’s waiting for me is that relentless world of blue