hero

Poem

By Rebekah Chia

child, you place your heart in the teeth of giants.

it bleeds for their warmth, see —

sugar-water and nectar drips from their grins, see —

and morning does not shine on the hollow of

their throats. there are words, there, crammed

into breathing air, and they burst out in waves.

you are caught dead-centre in the fog of war

and when the sirens sound, you are the only one

to hear its call.

child, these are your heroes.

hard-hearted and smiling, they hold your voice

in the palms of their hands. do not speak, dear.

do not say a word. there is wrought iron in your

lungs. there is rust, scarlet-red, on the tip of

your tongue.

child, you place your heart in the teeth of giants

and so they swallow it whole.

---

Rebekah Chia is an emerging young writer and dreamer by nature. Hailing from a tiny little island called Singapore, she has chased her passion for stories all the way to London, where she is currently studying English literature. Her poetry has also been published in the Eunoia Review, as well as in Pi Magazine, her university’s student newspaper.