Jekyll & Hyde
by Sarah Frank
what she says can be venomous,
carrying the sting of a thousand snakes,
not the words themselves
but the way she says them,
the context in which she says them.
I know it’s not her talking
but it’s hard to separate.
she is Jekyll, then Hyde,
hiding an arsenal of words
beneath her tongue
concealing the artillery until she switches,
until we mess up,
until we say the wrong words,
until we do the wrong thing,
and she releases all she has contained
into the atmosphere.
she lights the word aflame
and let us burn in it
because it doesn’t matter,
because she doesn’t care.
the next day she is Jekyll again
as sweet as the maple syrup
on my pancakes
when she comes in to tell me good morning.
I try and separate it.
That was not her
I say.
That was not her speaking.
This is the real her,
sweet like syrup.
But it’s hard to separate words
when they are said
in the same voice.
carrying the sting of a thousand snakes,
not the words themselves
but the way she says them,
the context in which she says them.
I know it’s not her talking
but it’s hard to separate.
she is Jekyll, then Hyde,
hiding an arsenal of words
beneath her tongue
concealing the artillery until she switches,
until we mess up,
until we say the wrong words,
until we do the wrong thing,
and she releases all she has contained
into the atmosphere.
she lights the word aflame
and let us burn in it
because it doesn’t matter,
because she doesn’t care.
the next day she is Jekyll again
as sweet as the maple syrup
on my pancakes
when she comes in to tell me good morning.
I try and separate it.
That was not her
I say.
That was not her speaking.
This is the real her,
sweet like syrup.
But it’s hard to separate words
when they are said
in the same voice.
Sarah Frank is a senior from Florida and an award-winning teen author. She has written two novels entitled One Chance and Two Secrets, as well as founded her own non-profit called Simple Studies which is committed to overcoming education inequity (something Sarah is very passionate about) via providing free resources. Sarah speaks at schools as an author with the goal of inspiring the kids to read, write, and follow their dreams. She also has a free writing program called the SF Writing Program for aspiring writers. In her free time, you can find her talking with her friends, writing poetry, and watching Netflix. Visit her online at https://sarahfrankauthor.carrd.co.