She Held Herself
A poem about generational healing
As if she'd known
A father's love
Hewn from maple felled
From boughs scraped high
Once against the moon
Whittled by
His hilt-held knife
Skin never nicked
By half-abandoned strokes
But wood, bespoke
Shapen to a daughter
Sturdy, none too pliable
As if she knew one man
Liable to follow-through
As if she had a
Carpentered heart:
Locked door
Not a feast for anyone
Poor and hungry
But a kingdom with a key.
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Reader insights
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Top insights
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
Compelling and original writing
Creative use of language & vocab
Easy to read and follow
Well-structured & engaging content
Excellent storytelling
Original narrative & well developed characters
Masterful proofreading
Zero grammar & spelling mistakes
On-point and relevant
Writing reflected the title & theme
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Comments (10)
Beautifully done, resonant in word and cadence and rich with meaning. It is like a carefully carved, but simple box, with the riches of the world inside 💙Anneliese
I love the way your words speak of two things covertly. That part about a carpentered heart and a kingdom with a key is downright prolific! GREAT poem! Congrats on a well deserved top story! 😉
Love this one Morgana 🙌🏼
This is just beautiful and I love that it can be read two ways. Your words always reach deep inside the reader and make us think, I mean really think! Congrats on Top Story.
Both tragic and triumphant. Congratulations!
Back to say, congrats Morgana! three for three! Top Story is deserved for this piece!
Dammit, Morgana, you make me so mad and so stunned at the same time lol! You have this wonderful skill, gift, talent...whatever you want to call it for saying so much, diving so deeply with so few words. Tremendous!
Would love to pick your brain on this. We've discussed layers and interpretation before on other pieces. I feel this is no different. Lovely use of imagery. Particularly loved these lines: As if she had a Carpentered heart: Locked door Not a feast for anyone Poor and hungry But a kingdom with a key.
But do we know who holds the key? Or will she at least know who it is when she sees them?
Splendid social commentary poem!!!♥️♥️💕