A LITERARY JOURNAL PUBLISHING STANDOUT TEEN WRITERS AGES 13-19
Archipelago
by Davin Faris (US)
August 2022
Audio: "Archipelago," read by Davin Faris
The air wept to welcome us
or name us a siege.
From the sky I saw endless gray rivers,
older than the cliché of arteries
and even miles beneath us, I could still pick out
the sand bars barely submerged, the roil of sediment.
Over ocean, the clouds became our islands.
Imagine a fairy tale archipelago, all cotton soft—
sometimes fables and lies are no less true.
The blue heartbreak of water might be the sky, which blackens, too.
But my favorite part of flight is the descent, the landing
when the miracle is undone
and everything returns to pumpkinseeds and mice,
quilts of land and stitched roads. A wash of red rooftops.
Only the air is made new. Wracked by salt
and sun burnt,
thick as tide, it sweeps past palms and calls to us:
You, you are the stranger here.
You are the miracle in this ocean.
You are the lie.
Davin Faris, 16, lives in Maryland. He is a student, climate justice organizer, and writer of poetry and fiction.
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Vee
3/9/24, 12:43 AM
This was absolutely a good read! 😃
Ushing Mya
11/24/23, 4:42 PM
I'm amazed by your deep perception towards little things of life! Keep glowing dear Taieba.
Fatima Ismail
10/4/23, 10:28 AM
I'll like to see more of your writing
Fatima Ismail
10/4/23, 10:26 AM
Gsk I love it!
dont care
10/3/23, 7:58 PM
womp womp
Andrea
9/29/23, 2:03 AM
Andrea
9/29/23, 2:03 AM
Wow..just wow. Ridiculous words I know. I just stumbled across your poem as this is my first time on the website and I landed this masterpiece. As an immigrant myself, I could relate to several aspects of this. Your use of imagery, symbolism, and allusion is outstanding
Lola
9/17/23, 8:43 AM
Powerful. Spreading the truth some don't think about, some don't have to worry about. A great and strong piece.
9/16/23, 2:41 AM
9/16/23, 2:41 AM
9/16/23, 2:41 AM
Aisha Yaakub
8/25/23, 10:35 PM
Excellent and amazing