Student Publishing Program ::

Fatima Bennouna

Le Collier

Sleek and cold
Against my skin
Just the right length
This necklace lies
Against my neck
Its hand-shaped pendant
Five fingers, for the five pillars

A red round stone
In the midst of it
My favorite color
And the reason I got this very one
So small, yet it fills my mind
This petite hand holds memories

Full of life, yet still and skinny
The hand pressing against my skin
Holding down my fears and protecting me
Like my mother’s embrace through the tough
Times. Just like the day I bought this necklace

It was hot, a wave pushing us
As we strolled through the open-air
Market. Just as she released the money to
The stranger, and I, placing it around my neck

A shift of pressure ran to my head
And suddenly, filled with dizziness
I fainted in my mother’s arms.

Now when I am lonesome
My mother’s hand still holds my chest

Even though she is gone away, she steels my pain

[TABLE OF CONTENTS, LHS CLASS OF 2009 EDITION]