who knows
By Zippy Spanjer
Each month, the YU Observer sends a call to YU students for poetry submissions following a specific theme. This month, the theme was ‘Unknown’, and we are featuring Zippy Spanjer’s piece, ‘who knows’. Other submissions of honorable mention have been published as well.
There’s a stained-glass window, a mirror, a wall,
a mosaic perhaps
who knows
Not us. It has been
years since
it was clean
And the colors and the patterns and the artist’s design
are
hidden
beneath years of accumulated grime, dirt, dust
chips and cracks
who knows
The window in the woods it lies
In the ruins in the woods
the ruins of a castle, a manor, a cottage
who knows
It’s dirty and dusty and grimy and musty and
beautiful under the layers of time.
There’s a girl in the woods she lies
alone, lost, abandoned,
who knows
Are they the same woods? Are they others? Which would make a better narrative?
Who knows?
She’s wandering, wandering, on and on
her shoes are tattered, her boots are new, her feet are bare
who knows
She’s seeking solace, answers, friends, a name
Who knows
She’s wandering, wandering, on and on
If she finds the window, the ruins, the wall
Will she see the beauty?
Who knows?
Do you want to see your writing published? The theme for September’s poetry submissions is “Epiphany.” Send all submissions to theyuobserver@gmail.com by September 18.
*** ***
Photo source: Aliza Leichter