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To those who cannot speak

WRITTEN BY EMILY KHYM

“Did you know eating avocados

is good for your heart,” you asked me

as if this was the most interesting question

in the world. I gave a hearty laugh, my hands

reaching for your heart. It’s beating

like crazy, like you committed a sin

that’s pumping your adrenaline when you stare

into my eyes. I keep my lips closed

and heart slightly cracked as you tangle my fingers

away from the beat of your heart,

lurking, no,

ready to go rampant as it shatters the glass

on the kitchen table, as you get ready

to rip a piece of my broken heart

and leave a shell that I cannot mend anymore.

But, I don’t think of that, I pretend I’m in a movie

that repeats in endless cycles. I’m not broken,

I’m simply finding my way.

Emily Khym is a 17-year-old senior attending The Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, Connecticut. In her free time, when she is not writing, she enjoys listening to music, playing the flute, and going on long runs. She is currently preparing her writing portfolio for university. Her literary works have been published in Inlandia, Elevation Review, Elan, Teen Ink, and West Trade Review literary magazines among others.

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