Poem by KT McVeigh

Cornfield

I navigated around the first few trenches and began to run
Blood pounding through my ears
Mud splattering the back of my legs
I stopped and lifted my face to the sky
And screamed as loud as I possibly could
Fists clenched
My whole body shook with the effort
My throat ached as my voice grew hoarse
But it didn’t even echo.
No birds flew out of the trees
And I realized with a chill that I was closer to the woods than the road
And I sprinted back to the car
My dad didn’t say anything, we just drove away
I made him pull over to a cornfield that day
But it wasn’t profound
I sat in the backseat
Panting
Adrenaline pumping through my veins
Feeling as empty as before.