A Celebration of Books,
Writers & LIterary Excellence

Save the Date


Gaithersburg
Book Festival

May 17, 2025

10am – 6pm

Bohrer Park


My hair’s twists and tangles

By: Ayomi Mukerjee

Thomas Wootton High School

Grade: 9

Montgomery County, MD

A tall tree sinks in its uncanny world
Until flowers, vivid with color, sprout 
Now the tree is beautiful. 
Coarse strands of unlit waves extend from my head
But I'm not beautiful. 
an inching caterpillar patently abides time
before emerging into a valuable butterfly
I let the flimsy liquids consume my strands
I wait…
       Wait …
            Wait…
But it never makes me valuable 
I was told that the twirls are hard to manage
Tousled waves take time, too much time
The oceans constantly intertwine 
Fabricating a steady peace
I dreamed of making peace with my arduous strands
Nevertheless I chose war
Relentless morphing to do away with my foggy curls
Morphing to sprout beams of straight hair from my head instead 
Though this change is only temporary 
Cause even if you sever the daring flowers
They surface once more in the spring
with a bigger charge  
Me and the ripples that tortured me may not be familiar
Though in a new day 
I wish for the artificial beams of light to go below and release my midnight hair once more
Once more to thank those twists and tangles 
for molding me into the distinct girl I am now