THE COLD BENCH
I sit on that cold bench where only I sit. The wind has made it colder than ever but that’s what makes it better. The other benches sit in the sun covered with warmth, but never will I sit there. I like to be alone where the sun can never show. And I love the way the big tree covers and shadows me, and it sways, making a noise that only I can hear. And the way I can walk around the bottom of its pure brown trunk and it still shadows me. And I love that only the bees can notice me. No one talks to me or sits by me on that cold bench. That’s always how it’s been.
—from 2018 Rattle Young Poets Anthology
__________
Why do you like to write poetry?
Alisha N. Wright: “I like writing poetry because it’s a way to show what I’m feeling or what I’m thinking.”
