A week or two ago, Michael asked me to be a guest writer. It was probably because I have a lot of interest in his work. While this is true, I have a deeper admiration for his craft and style. To me, art plays a big part of what I am interested in. I find myself appreciating art more than I actually produce it. Art sparks a joy in me because of the way different artists convey emotion, concepts, and their imagination. I do consider Michael’s writing a work of art. In my perspective, combining words is a way of art that is so complex, it gives me chills.
English has never been my favorite subject in school, not even close. One reason why I chose to comply with his demands (jk lol) is not because he's my cousin, but because I love learning and trying new things along with challenging myself along the way. The second reason is because as I mentioned earlier, I wanted to engage in a form of art and I believe that this was the best way to do it.
I am a rising senior and this past year in my junior English class I learned a lot about ambiguous meanings of written ideas in literature. I've also studied a lot of symbolism to represent themes and the message that the author wants to convey. I told Michael that I would probably write about how the pandemic has ruined my last summer of high school and how it has caused me to miss out on many fun events and memories that I will not have the opportunity to make up for. Along with that, my most fun and exciting senior year is being moved online which really sucks. When Michael challenged me with the word “ship,” I immediately thought of the different analogies that come along with it such as the joys of a cruise vacation and a tragedy of being lost at sea. I decided to reflect many people’s hardships and grief by connecting the pandemic directly with being capsized at sea. Personally, the pandemic has impacted everything about my life along with making many people feel fear, anxiety and uncertainty. Of course, I’m still making the best out of my summer and currently enjoying every aspect of my life. This is not meant to be a pity story, but I wanted to describe my inspiration to create an analogy for the roller coaster that people have been on throughout the pandemic. Also, I consider this work a mix between a poem and a short story, so here it is.
“Over Raging Waters”
The tides were high,
the same excited waves that reflected their hopes…
of escaping a tense reality.
Expecting an ephemeral fantasy,
they blindly stepped foot onto the vast ocean liner;
a time they would literally remember as the ride of their life.
Unaware of the trying times ahead of them,
they subconsciously floated towards uncharted depths.
The sun set quick as the greyed clouds filled the horizon,
a storm was headed their way.
The seas were replenished by the windy, pouring rain.
It was until then, they realized that their ship had capsized.
Next was simple.
Those unable to swim drowned like sugar in a sweetened lemonade.
Whether they were stirred or dissolved, many were intermixed into the salty concoction.
Those that were lucky hung on to the wreck’s scattered remnants, afloat like crushed ice… melting away.
Days passed like seconds: endlessly, never slowing down.
The following calm after the storm allowed the survivors to assemble,
gathering whatever limited supplies they could find still adrift into a makeshift raft.
The sad thing about time was that
it never stopped for anybody,
taking many lives with it.
As the days dwindled by, so did their resources.
Feelings of solitude swirled in the air,
they were lost to the world.
Their future was as blurry as the waters beneath them.
Their eyes always kept watch of the horizon,
hoping and searching for a craft of some sort,
the cure to their fears.
Who would have thought that their new world would have been lost at sea,
over raging waters.
by Ethan Martinez