My heart is a door.
After work, when I come to my house,
The door is locked.
The brain says, help.
The brain says, stuck, stuck.
I fumble around in my pockets.
After searching tirelessly for my key,
When I realize I forgot,
The heart starts to pound.
The brain says, not now.
The brain says, not after all this, not after all this.
I run, the wind’s sobs thundering in my ears.
I round a corner, the rain’s pattering footsteps chasing after me.
I cry, raindrops tracing rivulets down my skin.
The brain says, I can’t ask for help.
The brain says, that’s selfish, that’s selfish.
The streetlights hum and flicker.
Their glow leads me down a dimly-lit avenue.
Puddles of rain splash my socks soaked with each step.
I reach his place.
I knock on the door.
His heart is a door.
As it rains, pours, when I come to his house,
The door opens.
He says, “Do you need help?”
He smiles, pulls me close, and strokes my rain-soaked hair.
He says, “I’m here, I’m here.”
He says, “It’s okay, it’s okay.”
He pulls an umbrella out of the bin by the door.
I feel bad for making him do this for me so late at night.
But he grins as he raises the umbrella over our heads,
A force-field shielding me from the rain.
The streetlights feel brighter as he walks me home,
Back to the door.
He pulls a spare key out of his pocket.
I didn’t even know he had it.
He unlocks the door.
I wipe the tears from my face.
I’m home.
The brain says, happy.
The heart says, safe.
17-year-old Jenna Xue (she/her) is a passionate writer, an avid musician, and a devoted Swiftie from Pennsylvania. A busy and involved high school junior, Jenna spends most of her extracurricular time practicing flagwork for color guard, picking up trash in the community, journaling, and coloring mandalas. She has previously published a poem called "My Red and Your Red" in the Cathartic Youth Literary Magazine. Besides writing poetry, Jenna’s hobbies include singing, playing flute/piccolo, and playing viola. After high school, she plans on going to university, medical school, and residency to study to become a reproductive endocrinologist.
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