To Wield Both a Pen and a Sword

To Wield Both a Pen and a Sword

I want to hold 

Both a pen and a sword, 

To find struggle within my words, 

To make pain drip from the ink, 

Trickling onto my palms, 

Embedding scars along the creases 

In the shape of stories and verses 

That I wrote with smears of pollen 

Harvested from the wildflowers 

Sprouting from my heart, 

By the bumblebees of my soul 

Buzzing with hope.

The infinite marks of bravery

Will stay with me on the battlefield

Where I’ll wield a blade of courage,

My soul

Helping pollinate the strength

My pen engraved in me,

The determination 

Driven in me by poetry,

Because a pen

Isn’t greater than a sword;

It is one.

henniebear@kua

NH

15 years old

maelynslavik

VT

14 years old

The Voice

July 2024

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