To Kill a Phoenix

Cindy Liang, Del Norte High School, graduating 26'

"Artist Study" by Leanne Fan, Westview High School, 26'

Content Warning: Alludes to domestic violence

How do you kill a phoenix?

1. You shoot her. An arrow through the heart is quick and painless. You send prayers of gratitude to the heavens. You are merciful. 

2. You search for her mortality; the feelings of swooping butterflies and flushed cheeks and spring. When she falls, you pretend to catch her. She will never be born the same again. 

3. You wait for sunrise. She carries the timeless hope of dawn in the blinding rays of her feathers. You covet. You desire. Your greed, oily and black, glides over trembling limbs and swallows quivering breaths. You smother her in pitch. 

4. You hunt. One by one, her sisters shatter. Fire rains from the skies. In the new day, she rises to armageddon. Sometimes death is a greater mercy than life. 

Those who fight monsters must take care not to become monsters themselves.

In the end, Houyi is immortalized, just like the heavenly beasts fallen at his feet.