Image: Ye-Jean and Ye-Sung Park
He’s alone,
His breathing barely rises and falls
In a rhythm inharmonious with the rain
That pounds on him like a hardening heart.
There’s a dizzying array of the finest spools and yarn,
Vintage leather totes twinkling with tasteful tones.
There’s a thin flannel layer between the man and a world
That runs despite the contradictions and the vertigo.
More than the concrete, what hurts most is the apathy.
His greying black hair and broken English
Are set apart from the boutique,
While the stylish sensations are embroidered only for the elite.
Since when has the chasm between grey and gold
Become so strikingly deep?
Poverty tears our community’s fabric,
No gleaming luxury can conceal this dichotomy.
What if we could resew our torn stitches?
Unspool the status quo?
Would the world call,
And the future answer?
Movements against injustices
May not boom like a fashion craze.
Still, a word of strength or an act of understanding,
Is one of the many threads we will need
To unravel the broken,
And repair our fabric’s bonds.
One step forward marks the other,
Come biting wind or torrenting rain, no matter,
We should let him know that
He is not alone.
Ye-Jean Park is a Korean-Canadian student based in Calgary who considers herself a lifelong lover of learning in the sciences, arts, and everything in between. Inspired by the power of literature, she aims to create works that provide diverse perspectives on the unique experience and journey of being human.
Ye-Sung Park is a high school student and creator from Calgary who is always curious about what he can compose next. He enjoys pursuing opportunities to push boundaries and share works that resonate with others. Through his creations, he endeavors to use words as empowering tools to harness and explore.