Life or Death | Teen Ink

Life or Death

December 21, 2022
By rkloth505 GOLD, Hartland, Wisconsin
rkloth505 GOLD, Hartland, Wisconsin
15 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Life or Death

Leonora Carrington, The Saints of Hampstead Heath


I lay, immobile, at the foot of two figures. 

I cannot see them but I know they are there.

I hear faint exchanges of voices, 

making decisions for me.


I lay, dormant, unable to wiggle a finger.

My freezing body waits for deliverance,

but I am impatient.


I lay, powerless, incapable of resistance.

The chatter grows loud, my thoughts louder,

my eyes open, to dark and light,

two large figures day and night.


The taller figure glares at me,

his eyes like an abyss of white.

When he sees me, a grin forms on his face.

The smile digs into me like a thousand daggers.


This can’t be real; I must be dreaming


“Oh it’s real all right,” claims the man.


The author's comments:

This is an ekphrastic poem based on Leonora Carrington's The Saints of Hampstead Heath.


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