The Skeletal Violin | Teen Ink

The Skeletal Violin

April 29, 2015
By Kestrel135 PLATINUM, Waterford, Connecticut
Kestrel135 PLATINUM, Waterford, Connecticut
43 articles 0 photos 256 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Respect existence or expect resistance"


A skeletal violin.
Nothing but mere frames
of wooden curves,
of idle strings,
and a voice waiting for
the right moment
to speak.

And when it is called to join
the fallen
in the final battle against
the night,
already lost and
already won,
it answers.

With a testimony to the dead
and a prayer for the
living,
it answers.

A beacon to guide
the champions
caught in binds of
starvation and
loss
through the storm.

Past the gallows.

And to the inklings of
humanity
forgotten inside;

Forgotten,
but forever present.

A skeletal violin
singing to the ghosts of
lives once sacred
of souls once
sanctuary.

It sings.

A skeletal violin.
Nothing but the mere frames
of gentle curves
of preaching strings
and a voice
seizing
the only moment it has
to speak.

An advocate to face the end,
it sings.

The skeletal violin,
conquering the dark.

The skeletal violin,

and silence.


The author's comments:

Inspired after reading the account of Elie Wiesel during his time in the Holocaust written his novel, "Night".


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This article has 2 comments.


on Jul. 30 2015 at 2:00 pm
Kestrel135 PLATINUM, Waterford, Connecticut
43 articles 0 photos 256 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Respect existence or expect resistance"

Thank you so much for your feedback! Applying a third repition of "it answers" to end another stanza is a great idea! I'm glad you have read Night and could relate it to the story - it made the poem much more meaningful to write and, I assume, to read. I definitely plan to find a way to apply your advice when revisiting this poem. Thank you for reading it and giving me your thoughts, I really appreciate it!

Beila BRONZE said...
on Jul. 29 2015 at 9:12 pm
Beila BRONZE, Palo Alto, California
3 articles 0 photos 516 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco." -Mark Twain

This is so beautiful, and the fact that you've written it in response to "Night" only gives it that much more and deeper meaning. I love the first stanza best, especially because of the way you return to it right near the ending. By the way, those final few lines are spot on. Breathtaking. My only critique is that you could have had a great opportunity to employ the Rule of Three if only you had added one more stanza that ended with "it answers." With just one repetition, it kind of messed with the flow of the poem in my head because I was expecting one more. Still, so beautiful. You've definitely captured the raw and delicate moment in the end where he hears Juliek's violin--no small feat.