Hieroglyphics

Hieroglyphics:

Ink, falling off of lines, its night-black hair
swimming violently through the air.

Secrets whisper between her strokes,
hiding muffled meanings-
the blurring ofunsure words.

You never know,
you never could read;
her lines and arches contain only shape,
where all understanding and meaning
has escaped.

Her moves are…different
(to say the least)
all headaches arise
from deciphering her.

She gets punished for her out-of-line dances.

She didn’t fit in the stencils of letters
or the walls of boxes,

And for that she suffered.

But
she was more than content
with her ways, she was happy
being herself.

The mirror showed her soul
being in and out.

Because despite all comments
of laughter in their voice,
at least she wouldn’t ever regret
her choice.

Writer – Stephanie Lin
Editor – Ally Chu
Artist – Maryam Nawaz

–May 2025–