Enigma Weekend Edition Poem: 'Raveled in the Trenches'

Raveled in the Trenches

By Katrina Herrera

raveled in the trenches of a town susceptible to misconception

i saw myself bereft of life; smothered by viscous knobs of glue

adhering flying pages of slander

a fictitious manifestation springs from the paper--she is a verb of malleability

i whisper her name, three syllables of lead and a roll of poison

i constructed the wild strands, the wild gaze, the wild composition of printed atoms that now lay mangled

a testament to my subjective war with the narrative.

he utters to her, not me, “people do not love those whose eyes are elsewhere.”

i eye the cadaver, her achromatic tint matching my penmanship and

wonder when they will regard her discontinuity.

for her subset persona is composed in morphemes and plaster

as she slides across the ample spine of a dictionary

to unearth the amassment of words that appease to the masses.

he is looking at me, but waiting for her. the steady percolation

of the venom cascades off his tongue like water

pulling, pulling, pulling him towards the remains by his head

he devours dead ink

he composes a verb that allures his adrenaline

he begs me to give her breath

i leave flowers on her pages.

Enigma is the art and literary magazine. Staff membership is open to any interested high school student. Each year’s staff is formed at the beginning of that school year. The Enigma staff is responsible for all aspects of production, from writing and artwork selection to layout and publication tasks. Members are also required to attend Coffeehouse readings. Items intended for publication may be submitted to the faculty adviser, Mrs. Carol Allen-Gordon