Two Poems by Creed Taylor


Grandparents

This house is haunted
by two ghosts who know my name,
and instead of flickering lights and slamming doors
they call me down to dinner
to a table that isn't there to be set
to have a meal that we cannot share.
They remind me not to jump on the beds
even though the mattresses were put on the curb months ago.

I water their plants to make sure something in that house stays alive,
and I ask them their opinion on the color 
I've chosen to paint their walls.
They ask what was wrong with the floral wallpaper that was there before 
and they remind me that this is their house to haunt.
So I tell them I'm sorry that it's all gone now,
and I’m sorry that we couldn’t keep the furniture,
and I’m sorry that everything about their house is changing,
and I'm sorry I didn’t see them more when I had the chance.

They watch their house die before them
until they can’t recognize the life they had there.
I know that I’ve overstayed my welcome.
Now, these ghosts only see the bones of their haunted house,
and I only see the bones of them.
They know this house is no longer theirs to haunt,
and that this house was never really haunted
it was only ever me. 


*


Season’s Change

You’ve waited years for this,
the sweet release of summer’s sun
on a bleak and breathless winter. 

Don’t cry now that it’s just around the corner.
The sunshine waits for no one,
its heat is an inescapable blister.

You’ve been waiting for a summer’s will,
but now you dread the cold’s goodbye.
You’re trapped in the snowy tomb

but now it’s time for summer.
Don’t cry because you knew it was coming;
don’t cry because it’s here. 

The summer sun will dry your tears 
and burn the guilt from your complexion. 
Know that the sun will not weep for you. 

 

Creed Taylor is a junior in the SCAPA program for literary arts at Lafayette High School in Lexington, Kentucky. They’ve always enjoyed writing and they received a gold key in the 2021 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards for their piece titled “12/24.” At school, they take part in various school clubs including Student Council, Film Club, and Science National Honors Society. Outside of school, they enjoy reading, crocheting, and painting.


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