All Nonfiction
- Bullying
- Books
- Academic
- Author Interviews
- Celebrity interviews
- College Articles
- College Essays
- Educator of the Year
- Heroes
- Interviews
- Memoir
- Personal Experience
- Sports
- Travel & Culture
All Opinions
- Bullying
- Current Events / Politics
- Discrimination
- Drugs / Alcohol / Smoking
- Entertainment / Celebrities
- Environment
- Love / Relationships
- Movies / Music / TV
- Pop Culture / Trends
- School / College
- Social Issues / Civics
- Spirituality / Religion
- Sports / Hobbies
All Hot Topics
- Bullying
- Community Service
- Environment
- Health
- Letters to the Editor
- Pride & Prejudice
- What Matters
- Back
Summer Guide
- Program Links
- Program Reviews
- Back
College Guide
- College Links
- College Reviews
- College Essays
- College Articles
- Back
The Ice King
It started out as raindrops
on my windowpane.
But now I can't see past the blur.
The water crystallizes
before the sun rises
Every day seems the same,
the same routine.
The winter always ends
but this year the cold's overdue.
The tree outside my door bends
it cracks beneath the weight.
This shelter wasn't designed
to keep me safe inside.
My skin turns white
I'm freezing at night.
I laugh like I'm crazy
looking past the sky that's hazy.
Is it day or night?
Both are the same.
Daytime the sun mocks
Nighttime the moon smirks.
I remember someone's outside
Who was it?
Blindly I stumble outside
haunted by the sounds I hear.
The chills are like knives
The trees murmur behind my back
Light begins to rise
and for the first time
meets my weary eyes.
Trails of red,
startling enough to stop.
A battle scar
from warring forces of Ice.
My signature of defiance
in this frosty world
authorizing my statement of freedom.
I know the Ice King watches me
He won't kill me
right away
He will slowly try
until I die
to drag the life from me.
I stumble more than once
and
before I know I'm down
the document's soaked
in red ink.
A price tag.
He laughs, waiting for the moment
when my ink is gone.
I rip a piece of extra cloth
(why didn't I do this before?)
and try to stop the bleeding.
Just a few more steps
Just
a
few
more
steps
I hear a clock ticking
a whimper nearby;
she's okay, just sleeping.
I carry her with me
searching for the farmhouse.
No need to make a trail
when my ink is now a river.
Why won't it stop?
I wonder.
I hear shuffling
in the woods.
Battle cries from the king's forces
as if he hasn't had enough sources
of human bloodshed.
But no, he lives to kill
and he kills to live
he is evil in earthly form.
They're chasing us
the clock ticks faster
My limbs tense
and I can't help
when I trip
and freeze like stone.
I move the little girl closer
wondering if a corpse
can still keep her warm.
Am I selfish
for not giving her my coat
and dying already?
The clock slows
the sky snows.
I'll savor this moment
even if she's twenty steps from
dead
and I'm three.
The shouts grow louder
Helicopters, guns, it's all a blur.
I don't feel the bullets
but I hear them come.
They run past me
looking for others,
a whole village maybe.
The girl looks like a bundle
they can't see her.
I hear more bullets
Screams are common as music
Ice freezes the wounded
Serenely I fade
But my spirit never dies.
Don't let our spirit die.
Similar Articles
JOIN THE DISCUSSION
This article has 0 comments.