It’s a fiery day choked by ash
And drops of gloom snuff out the light
Rain drops, warm on sun-soaked skin as
I simmer in the storm’s stone vise
Pink petals gleam through globs of gloom
Magnetize my blood through my eyes
Closer, they pull me by my heart
Away from doom to awe’s respite
Treading barefoot on cracked gravel
Splintered sticks crushed beneath my feet
Nearing closer, I see that the
Blushed roses are not what they seemed
A patchwork of beauty and death
Once scornful thorns, now in torment
Pink, forced brown by blight as
Their flawed facade falls in fragments
Benny Ajaero is a high-school student at Concordia College, in the IB Diploma Program. He was born in Nigeria but now lives in Australia. Benny enjoys writing poetry and programming in his spare time.