little dove
by Sofia Toledo
Jagged are the thorns veiled by the pretense of love
There to keep her safe,
Or so she’s told
Always intending to keep their permanent,
Piercing hold.
She carries this suffocating veil;
It flies off her, lifted away
By the beak of a teary eyed black dove
Don’t they know
How their sharp edges pierce the skin,
How they scar and ache and leave
Her forever changed?
Look! Is it gone? Did the bloody, gaping holes close?
No, but the crimson veil no longer covers them
And the thorns remain apathetic
As the red consumes her midnight feathers.
Know it was not only the little dove who cried
For it is a choice to not
See the cracks as they widen bit by bit.
It is a twisted love that says she must not disagree.
Still their blade remains unapologetic
Comfortably cutting away
At the parts they didn’t see fit,
All the while still cutting away at me
Sofia Toledo (grade 12)
bio
My name is Sofia Toledo and I am a senior. In school I am president of Premed Club and Spanish Honor Society, and I am an active member of the Model UN team. Outside of school I like to watch movies, go to the beach, and go out with friends.
what message do you hope to convey to the reader through your piece?
My hope is to convey that there is great validity in feeling caged or weighed down by expectations, and how they inflict pain even if they are not created with the intent to cause you any harm.
what was the most difficult part of your writing process for this work?
I spent a couple hours trying to create a cohesive rhyme scheme and 10 syllable line metric, and then once I had it I decided I didn’t like it and reverted back to free verse.
who you write sporadically or regularly?
I’d say ideas come to me rather sporadically but I plan to start committing a regular, scheduled time to writing.
