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Birds in the Dark

 

By Aiana Karymshakova '27 

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She lies in the dark,

holding her arc.

She’s brave and strong, 

And her knowledge shines upon

Her arms strong with years of fighting,

Fighting with the demons and the cold

Her mind glowing from the flow,

The flow of knowledge and the 

Never-ending seas of books.

 

Her eyes flicker, and her smile gleams.

Her luminescence blinds the envious,

And flowers blossom from the heat,

The warmness and the sweetness.

Oh, my dearest.

She is so wondrous, 

So beautiful and fascinating.

 

Yet she lies in the dark.

So did her mother.

So did her grandmother 

And all the ones before.

All because of the pressure 

and the metal boots of devils

That seem always to stand 

on the cheeks of the righteous.

 

There was Leviathan, 

And his shadows

That tried their bests not to let her go,

Not to let her fly,

Not to let her shine.

 

They tried their best to make her Belphegor,

Another one of them,

All of them,

Living in their swamps

That stink and smell

With their filth, envy, hatred, and ignorance.

 

But she escaped.

She fought.

She took her bow of Education

And sent the arrows right into their hearts.

Flew away the righteous bird,

The always free, brave, kind bird,

And transformed herself into an Eagle

Instead of Belphegor—an Eagle.

 

How ironic, for the swamp-yards. 

They tried to change her—well, she did.

But not the one they wanted.

Not the identical copy of them,

Rather, an absolute idol for men.

 

The eagle escaped;

She truly did.

But still, there are others, in the dark.

There are other 

Birds in the shadows

Fighting for their lives, 

But unable to.

 

Maybe because they’re scared

Or they’re pressured

Or they simply can’t.

Different birds in different nests.

But all the same in the overwhelming shadows

That buried the light with their heavy, dark clouds.

 

Let us fight for the birds,

The future eagles,

Hawks,

And angels.

Let them sing.

Let them fly.

Let them shine.

Bring them into the light

Because they deserve it

And have deserved it since the moment of their birth.