By 8th-Grade Blogger Soleil Antle  

Sarah challenged us to write about The Beauty and the Beast of Things. Sarah explains, “I think everything, beautiful or not, has a ‘beast’ in it. For example, a mountain has a lot of beauty, but it can also be seen as a beast with its landslides and avalanches. Also, the sun produces a sunset, which is gorgeous but when too close, it becomes a scorching hot star.” Sarah challenged us to describe a thing in detail–addressing the positive and the negative of it.

Soleil responds with a look at the beauty and the beast of relationships.

I’m sure anyone has that one person whom they loved so deeply at some point in their life but was betrayed by. It’s hard to imagine a time when they were your core, and now all that’s left is a distant memory. I can’t express the physical destruction it causes, but I know it’s not a pain that goes away quickly. Both love and companionship can be described as beautiful and substantial, but there’s a beast hidden inside its beauty. Not every love story works out nor does a lifetime of commitments, but that is life, and in every fairy tale someone usually gets hurt. This is an original poem about the complexities of someone you once loved turning unloving. 

Winds Change

Always be ready to lose anyone
Because people change like seasons. 
They say they’re there forever
But still end up leaving, as if you meant nothing. 
One second you’ll breathe the same air,
Your joy and laughter are untamable.
The next it's all a distant memory,
One you can hardly remember.

When you stop giving, you see who’s genuine.
When you stop talking you see who actually cares.
Silence is power.
Loyalty is strength.
And truth is reality.

My mind wanders
As the illusion of you roams free in my mind; 
Maybe you left your mark
Embedded in my brain
Reminding me to forget 
That someday I will see you again,
As you left this hurt to me.

I’ve seen the scars you hide beneath– 
The tears shield inner peace.
I would’ve stood by you, so caught in the dark.
But you are not the only one who’s lost.
We could have taken on the world just us;
not anymore. 

There’s no right place to be.
And though I can’t bring you back,
And I don’t wish for another like that, 
It still hurts to breathe
From long ago
when you dug that hole so deep in me. 

Loyal, I once thought you were,
But you crushed me like dried leaves.
Now all we share is our community of air 
And the silence of our old joy.
Nothing is forever, as seasons pass through.
Be ready to lose someone.
Hearts and courage hold truth.

People come and they go in your life, but your true friends are there forever. A person’s mental health is always affected after losing someone or something so special. When you imagine their laugh or smile again, it hurts more than physical pain, but that is the risk we take for love, isn’t it? Sometimes the good things in life don’t last, but they add to the story of your journey.