A Separate Peace
Innocent, I once found joy
In all there was to find
And had peace, separate from the world,
In this sheltered life; surprised
By every shift in nature’s ploy
Caused by every change in man
From alchemy to heroes hurled
Into wars across the land.
But quick came the time to fear,
See what lurked behind our shields,
It wasn’t a world of peace-for-all
But death-shells, sin-bullet reels
Rewind, reload, rebuff, reap
Err from what is and was to know
About the dying, fast they fall
As round them does the snow.
And who, you ask, stripped me of hope,
Of all surprise, of sheltered peace,
Of friends that now lie dead and cold?
The enemy was me.
—
Biography
Myealah (“sounding water”) spends most of her time with the audio and visual arts, but she has always had a passion for wordplay and the construction of meaning. Myealah is a third-year art and art history student.
Judges’ Comment
The prosaic but easy flow of Myealah’s poem is reminiscent of her well-chosen source. Many great works are a new take on a classic text, and this poem demonstrates a clear ability to draw a new focus through metaphor.
