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Mars Sell, 2022 Original Poetry Winner
My Dad Went to Europe and All I Got Was a Wooden Giraffe
There’s nothing special about The giraffe. It has harsh
Edges from careless carving.
I smile at the gift and my dad
Looks away. There’s nothing quite like
The fireworks on the Fourth.
I used to sit up until late into the night with my dad
Just to watch them glow.
Now the sulfuric smoke creeping through the window
Is like rain pouring down on a fire;
Any happiness I felt seconds ago is doused by the scent.
There’s nothing that can help me, save
The giraffe that sits on a shelf above my bed,
Staring at me with mournful eyes.
Just a glance and I remember long summer
Days, bright red sunburns. There’s nothing
Left, least of all any happy memories,
Just an animal watching.
The giraffe stares and I cry.
There’s nothing it can say
Besides the story carved into its wood
But still I ask, Who made you?
The giraffe doesn’t answer my question.
Mars Sell
Silver Key, 2022 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
Mars Sell is a senior at Woodstock Union High School. When they’re not reading or hanging out with their cat, you can find them writing away as if their life depends on it. They love to make their friends read their writing, and they have attended the Champlain College Young Writers Conference, the Juniper Institute for Young Writers online through University of Massachusetts Amherst, and the Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshop through Kenyon College.
March 29, 2022