Branksome Hall's new innovation centre will be named The Karen L. Jurjevich Innovation Centre and Studio Theatre (iCAST).
Winter 24
Don't Crumble
Don’t Crumble
by Mani, Grade 12
Inspired by the character Marjane - Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return
Your hands swing down like tethers,
Inviting me towards the light
Airlift me up, I can’t grab on
Not after drifting along the void this long.
Snap out of it!
Don’t
Crumble.
Pressing my lips to the butt,
each self-loathing puff
Inhales fumes, and I hate yous
If I bathe in toxins,
coat my insides the colour of disdain,
then my lungs can resemble the anger I taste
Lugging around a lump of mold,
scooping out the rot, my fingers feel cold
I don’t bear his wounds,
my hands have never been roughed,
Instead, they wear princess cuts, get the odd paper cut
Believe me, I wish this home was enough,
Don’t
Crumble.
Every exhale expels toxicity into the air,
Our house feels brighter when I’m not there.
I see the lights glisten from the sidewalk,
dimming once I step foot in the foyer,
‘Yes’ gets lodged in my throat
Someone else shakes my head no
I can feel my funk infesting the walls
Laying a casing over our lives,
Let me decay here in silence,
before I’m forced again outside.
My sullen body’s been hollowed
Gaping holes suck my soul
Wisps of darkness bite at my heels,
Wrap around my ankles,
Each “I’m fine” got tied,
to a blanket made to shield me
The silk yarn got so heavy
Almost stopped breathing
Wake up,
Wake up!
Don’t
Crumble.
If I stay stoic, my past can’t be unearthed
If I sink low enough, I’ll stay submerged
I’ve cried myself a bathtub full
But in the distance swoops a brilliant red cardinal
Its claws latch on where your palms slip,
carrying me till the sun crisps my lips,
I’d fashioned a lovely home in my pity pit
Maybe the bird was sent from up high,
The sweetest message from the divine
When you’re down that long,
you’ll take anything for a sign
Settle down, gentle one, and rest in the Cardinal's wings
You can crumble…
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LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We wish to acknowledge this land on which Branksome operates. For thousands of years, it has been the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and most recently, the Mississaugas of the Credit River. Today, this meeting place is still the home to many Indigenous peoples from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to work and go to school on this land.
Setting the new standard for girls' education everywhere takes collective action. From all of us.
