KidSpirit

Strange Experience

The StrangerPoetry

Sitting, bowed diffidently,
in the seat
of an idling car.

Leaning against the shadowed wall,
looking out at the brazen clamor
of a dance.

Imprisoned, motionless,
seized by the onyx manacles
of worry.

A ceaselessly unfurling
newsreel of
‘What If’s

The chill insidious
venom of
black anxiety suffuses
your mind

But then,
in its recesses,
something stirs.

Small, timorous, but
blossoming
onward

You extend a quavering hand
to the handle of the car door.

Detach yourself from the
cold plaster of the
Dance Hall wall

And step into the
effulgence
of new experience

Will Hodgkinson is 16 and in the 10th grade at Waldorf High School in Massachusetts. His poetry has been published in Off the Coast, Maine’s international poetry journal, Highlights magazine, and the Arlington Advocate. His interview with Noam Chomsky was published recently in the University of Massachusetts Breakwater Review. His interests include politics and writing.

Like what you're reading?

Check out KidSpirit newsletters, and get more great content in your inbox!

Which newsletters would you like to receive?

Art by Jaden Flach, Brooklyn

Like what you're reading?

Check out KidSpirit newsletters, and get more great content in your inbox!

Which newsletters would you like to receive?

Art by Jaden Flach, Brooklyn