HOLLAND PARK SCHOOL 2022/23
FOLIO ACADEMY MENTEE 2024/25
She woke up to a stroking of her face;
a warm hand whispering to soft skin, manoeuvering
through layers of sleep-ridden iron grilles.
She leaned into the sun-kissed palm,
not registering the words;
dragged body from warm duvet,
and uncurled toes across the ground.
She forced herself through movements,
ripped paper off of shapes:
a book, a hat, a bicycle,
lactose-free chocolates shaped like a rose.
Stumbling through minutes turned into hours,
she stuffed cake down clogged canals,
listened to a 10-and-a-half second song
made atonal by her dad’s tuneless sounds
and she crawled back under the covers,
chest aching with unsaid words,
allowed her eyes to droop, breath to slow
and lifted her fingers to her own cheek,
savouring the shadow of the sun-kissed hand.
