Poetry by Owen Carpenter

This poem was inspired by the famous painting titled "Scream" by Edvard Munch

"Still"

Petrified,
Sat still overwhelmed with fear
Screaming, but no sound comes out.

An ominous presence,
Felt from both front and back
Like being alone, in a pitch black room.

The exquisite sunset behind her
Such a wondrous view,
Just adding irony to her terror.

Her face, as white as bone
Imagination takes control of her,
The beast is nowhere to be seen.

"Pandemic"

Fluorescent lighting flickers,
Over row after row
Of vacant shelves.

Shoppers snatch up
What little remains,
Hand sanitizer and toilet paper,
worth their weight in gold.

Panic settles in
The deep corners
Of hollowed out eyes.

Death comes round,
Like wilted flowers
Returning to dust.

This pandemic,
Or the next
Who’s to say.

"Trance"

A man staring at an ocean.
Thinking while giving off an odd sense of sorrow.

The ocean, reflecting the sky’s intricate colors as if it were a mirror.

The shore encasing the ocean,
Like a picture frame with the ocean as the picture.
Small boats washed up, decorating the shore.

This man still focused on the ocean.
Looking like he is in a deep trance,
In which he can’t wake up from.