Sheena Gnos is in her 4th year, graduating in June with a double major in English and Creative Writing. She has experienced and loved both sides of the publishing world, having worked on two magazines and been published in novel, short story, and article format. She enjoys nature, painting and drawing, and above all, reading.
Empty Echo
Life is a breath
Narrating the deep
Secrets in a single exhale
Once fearless
The surface now threatens
Breath becomes enemy
Hunted, corralled
Sound upon sound
Never ending cacophony
Secrets turn to sorrows
As voices echo empty
“Empty Echo” is about Orca captivity—not just today’s world, but how the Orcas were first acquired and put into a captive setting. This one was inspired by David Kirby’s Death at SeaWorld, and the documentary Blackfish.
The Crossing
The waking sound of the bell
Lingers at death’s door
Dances there
I hear it here beyond the veil
My heart beats once in reply
A second ring
Summons me
I turn back
The cold current drags at my legs
I fight its grasping hands
Struggling against my weakness
The strength of the bell reaches my soul
I hasten towards the sound
The journey gets harder
The bell chimes again
My heart beats once more
Irregular
Thump…
Thump, thump…. Thump…
Pushing through the veil
Burning with renewed life
I pass through the light, leaving the frost behind
I follow the song of the waking bell
Where someone waits for me.
“The Crossing” was inspired by the novel Sabriel by Garth Nix, and speaks to a person being called back from death.