blind in hindsight
By Izzie Hackett, 16, Missouri
my mind is a book with illustrations
color flies freely from page to page
each turn more vivid than the last
but when i reach your chapter
i am overwhelmed
by the foul fashion
that my mind monochromatically paints
your face
your words
as i flip through the sheets stained by you
my fingers are stained too
dusted golden
my memories of you dance in my mind
glowing golden
and in my mind you have done no wrong
and in my mind it was all my fault
because you are
undoubtedly golden
my mind must have drawn over
those blue rivers you brought,
the red that i bled for your love,
and the dark void that you left
it must have ruined erasers and blunted pencils
because when i remember you,
you are
completely and utterly golden
no one could dull the magnitude of your sickly shine.
“blind in hindsight” was inspired by my experience in an emotionally abusive relationship. More specifically, this poem is about romanticizing someone’s existence and the memory of them. Even when your mind knows the pain they have inflicted upon you, their manipulation makes you question everything and sometimes disregard all the horrible things they have done. The mind paints them golden, even when they are everything but golden.
