Meggie Royer, 19
Macalester College, 2017, Psychology
Personal writing blog can be found at www.writingsforwinter.tumblr.com
More of Meggie's wonderful work will appear in the upcoming issue of Rib Cage!
An Original Piece by Meggie...
The Hanging Tree
I once saw an empty noose swinging from the gnarled limbs
of a pecan tree, and it reminded me of the shifting tectonic plates
my grandmother swore she saw beneath my grandfather’s skin
the first time she placed her palms over his chest.
Sometimes, everything means knowing that nothing can hold us.
There are mine fields inside my stomach I have never seen,
either because I’m waiting for someone to detonate them
or because I’m too afraid to find out that maybe, just maybe,
the explosion already happened long ago
and what’s left of my heart is just a splattered mess full of shrapnel.
I want these ribs to christen themselves into wings
so the story my grandmother told me about equating breathing with flight
can come true after all. For these freckles on my wrists
to be more than freckles, to be Orion’s Belt instead, to be stars
that will guide my way home without a compass.
For this language I speak to be fewer words and more poetry.
I want to go back in time and turn that pecan tree noose
into a jump rope for a smiling child instead;
I want to watch my grandmother sink her hands slowly
into the epicenter of my grandfather’s sternum,
sink them so deep his ribs melt away into the ocean of his blood.
I want to go back in time and pinpoint the exact moment
she made his heart stop beating.
A Little More About Meggie...
Favorite word- Ethereal
Publications-
My first poetry book, Survival Songs, can be purchased through Barnes & Noble, through Fameless Publishing, through Amazon as a paperback copy, through Amazon as a Kindle copy, through iBooks, through Chapters, through Square Market, or through the Book Depository. My second poetry book, Healing Old Wounds With New Stitches, can be purchased through etsy.
Poems previously published in Words Dance Magazine, Winter Tangerine Review, Fameless Magazine, The Best Teen Writing of 2013, Lost Freedom Magazine, and The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards 2013 National Catalog
Accomplishments & Literary Awards-
National Silver Medal for Writing Portfolio and National Gold Medal for Poetry in 2013 National Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
Survival Songs nominated for Best Poetry category in the 2013 Goodreads Choice Awards, came in 9th place out of 20 in the third and final round
Writing selections from my 2013 National Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Writing Portfolio and Poetry Collection on display in Washington, DC for the Art.Write.Now.DC 2013/2014 Opening Reception in partnership with the US Department of Education and The President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities
The bones that comprise the body of Meggie’s beautiful words-
I write because my voice speaks louder on paper than it does in air, and I want my words to scream. I write because there are untold stories inside of me, and by sharing these stories with my readers, we can all find some form of empathy for one another. Writing is ultimately about survival and healing, and I love that. I want my readers to feel it too. I like to write about my grandparents because the lessons that are passed down through generations are so important to me. Another favorite subject of mine is love, shockingly, I know, but there is just so much you can do with it, as well as with the topics of recovery and loss.
