By Alyssa Ho

this is an ode
without any beginning
or a thought
to how it will end

this is an ode
that as I write
I feel the warm hum of air
atoms not touching
yet bouncing like sparks
and now they are elsewhere

this is an ode
for the notes flowing
in my earbuds
plucks of guitar strings
whose melody
no one else can hear

this is an ode
to 3:46 on the 29th in
May, 2020 where the world has
stopped in my confinements
yet whose rainstorm outside
will never cease
and that last drop
marked 3:47

this is an ode
to this second
that has just passed
the second it takes
for a patient to take a breath, clean and beautiful
for a nurse to rest, removing a mask of calm
for a smile to reach a loved one, farther than any units could measure

this is an ode
to these words
pouring out of my tired lungs
that still comes up for air
in a sea that is drowning
we cannot breathe

this is an ode
to this fraction of history
that has torn through society’s layer
like dominos, one by one
revealing the raw, disgusting, and
true nature at our core
hollowed, splintered
hearts scooped out
licked clean
in a time that is not normal
we are forced to truly look
through a divided magnifying glass
at what we considered normal
oceans upon oceans of spilt blood
HE COULDN’T BREATHE

this is an ode
to the Monster
that has blocked our path
its dense eyes showing us futures repeating the past
revealing the traitors of our own perceptions
its claws peeling away our facade of the Dream
why do we keep fighting this Monster
hoping to return on our old wrenching, beaten path
when we must realize
that this is not nature’s revenge
but nature’s gift
perhaps She has exposed us
only so that we may tred a new road

this is an ode
to right now
whether it be
the smallest of seconds as you read this line
to the largest of eras you define
but I hope, dear reader
that this will be an ode
to the right now
you choose to take nature’s second chance
a second chance to
stare down returning to “normal”
and choose to walk away

About the author:

Alyssa Ho is in 11th grade at the California School of the Arts. She likes to write poetry, journalism, novels, and musicals. Recently, she co-wrote a mini-musical called “Watch You’re Mouth” which was produced by the Youth Playwrights Festival of the Blank Theater in Los Angeles. Alyssa also enjoys STEM. This past summer she was an intern at the Children’s Hospital of Orange County and was selected as a 2020 World Science Scholar.