1 poem
By Deeksha Sriram
Greenhills School
maroon
Last night, I found an abandoned playground with
no kids, parents or dogs in sight.
A thunderstorm was brewing in the sky, slowly stripping the autumn trees of their maroon
leaves.
Lightning hit the sky,
and the seesaw creaked, succumbing to an invisible weight.
Little droplets of rain turned into streams,
drenching my
little yellow raincoat.
Wood chips dug into my soles,
their edges sharp against damp socks.
I could smell firewood burning and
marshmallows toasting.
I looked for the scent’s origin but the only thing surrounding me was
darkness.
In front of me was a
red swing set,
the only pop of color in sight.
I sat down, and watched the structure sink in with my
weight.
I tried kicking off of the ground for a head start,
but my knees were already touching the earth.
I was taller than the structural poles,
and stronger than the chains could handle,
so I just sat and stared at the stars.
I could feel the swing slowly crumbling, but I
waited.
My palms rested on my thighs,
the cold chains imprinting rust on my fingers.
I kicked at the dirt, and a memory spilled out:
A little girl, only three feet tall, leaping from the play structure,
knees streaked with maroon.
sand slipped through tiny fists,
a castle’s turret crumbling.
She was
beautiful,
kind,
free.
Laughter echoed in the toy house,
though no voice answered now.
The swing sagged beneath me,
its chains strained and sighing.
Once, it soared high enough
for that little girl to touch the sky with outstretched toes.
Last night, its faded frame clung to the earth,
its bright paint swallowed by rust and rain.
I pushed off the swingset, the seat still sagging under the memory of my
weight.
My fingers brushed the cool metal one last time before slipping away.
The grass crunched faintly beneath my feet,
but I kept my gaze fixed ahead, silence pulling at my
shoulders.
As I turned around to face the swingset head on,
I saw the chains break,
the swing fall,
and the metal poles collapse.
I escaped the apocalypse.
Deeksha Sriram is a rising senior at Greenhills School in Ann Arbor, Michigan. When she's not writing poetry, she enjoys exploring a wide range of interests, from cooking to playing the violin. Deeksha loves studying chemistry and neuroscience and learning new languages, especially Spanish. She often spends her free time picking up new phrases or experimenting with recipes in the kitchen. As a matcha enthusiast, she enjoys visiting local cafes to try new fun matcha drinks. She’s also passionate about travel, and some of her favorite destinations so far have been Greece and Peru, where she found inspiration in both the culture and cuisine. Deeksha writes best when she’s traveling because being immersed in new cultures sparks her creativity!