“Peace” by WITS Student Gwyneth Febus
February 8, 2022
Peace and I met at 2 in the morning
with my head hanging out the window to catch snow on my tongue
He was so cold and refreshing and new
He breathed out white clouds
And the light of the moon reflecting on his skin
So I vowed to make him my friend
Peace and I played at the playground even though we were far too big
And our soft whispers could be heard late into the night
We ate cold pizza and watched shitty romantic comedies
And screamed out the lyrics of songs that I used to cry to in middle school
But now made me infinitely happy
Sometimes I got anxious or overwhelmed and he left for a bit
I guess I was too much for him
And he too much for me
And every day he got most distant, off to help someone else I guess
But you can still see glimmers of him in everyday things
Peace is how excited dogs get about everything
Peace is flowers over a grave
Peace is buying art supplies
Peace is being alone in a bookstore
Peace is being in a pulsing concert joined by the same song
Peace is listening to thunderstorms
Peace is catching snow on your tongue
Gwyneth Febus wrote this poem while a student at Nathan Hale High School with WITS Writer-in-Residence Jay Thompson. Gwyneth read the poem to open our Journalism Series event with Ed Yong on February 10, 2022.