Girl Combing Her Hair, a painting by Edvard Munch
Just a Girl
By Sophie Hochwald
As a girl stares down the sink, brush in her hand
Her mind wanders off to a faraway land
Where rain isn’t wet and deserts aren’t dry
Where red looks pink and people never cry
She imagines the drain is a portal to there
If only she could shrink and be as small as a hair
But shrinking is impossible, and so is her dream,
Of a land where things aren’t really what they seem
“Dreams are for sleepers” her father always said
As he turned the lights off and tucked her into bed
And until the girl slept she would think of her dad
Just wondering if he knew that those words sounded sad
The girl couldn’t help that her mind was alive
Always thinking and dreaming; buzzing like a beehive
She wanted to share all her dreams with the world
But for now she was just trying to make her hair look less curled
For she is just a girl, brush in her hand
Constantly wishing that people would understand
Her hopes and her dreams of a faraway land
But she is just a girl,
Brush in her hand
Biography
My name is Sophie Hochwald and I am a freshman. Outside of school, I love to play piano and spend time with my friends. In school, I am part of the pre-med track.
What is your ideal writing environment?
My ideal writing environment is somewhere quiet. I actually write better under pressure so also if I have a deadline approaching that would probably help me write.
Why did you choose to submit this category(s) of artwork/writing out of the many available category options?
I chose to write an ekphrastic poem because I saw this painting and knew that I could find a deeper meaning within it. I loved the colors that the artist used and it inspired me to write about it.
Expressions 