Kyndall Brown Wins Larry Neal Writers' Award

Kyndall Brown, a freshman at Duke Ellington High School was awarded First Place in the Larry Neal Writers' Award competition for Teen Poetry. Split This Rock is incredibly proud of Kyndall, who has been a part of the Split This Rock family since 2006 when her poem “When Is War Going to Stop?” was published in the special Wartime Issue of Beltway Poetry Quarterly.

Imaginary Pressures

Its seems clear
It sounds just right
Each row perfectly aligned
And spaced
Flawlessly decorated with
Personality and self expression
Lyrically flowing swift
And smooth
She’s swept away
It’s done and finally finished
That false sense of security
Slowly but surely
Falling into a bottomless
Pit of uncertainty
She eventually cracks
Under the burden of
Physical abuse and
Low self-esteem
She becomes transparent
One piece at a time
Almost but not completely
Wiped away
Lost to the insanity of
That white page and thePressure of her own insecurities
She’s trapped
Between blue lines and
Marginalized by red bars
She tries to escape
From that mental slavery
By hiding behind a mask
Of trivial rhythm and rhyme
Only to be swept into deception and disorder
Each verb, noun and predicate becoming
Lost in confusion and doubt
No longer able
To speak the truth
She’s tossed away
Like some unwanted trash
Imprisoned behind
Circular walls of desperation and indifference
There with
The other failures
Broken, scarred and wrinkled
She contemplates her own fate
And wonders if
She can ever be
Truly set free
Or will she forever
Be bound and tied
By the imaginary pressures
To be a perfect
Poetic Verse

Kyndall Brown
2009