Kilhah Stfort
Thomas A. Edison High School, ‘21
“I’m motivated to speak out on climate change because it’s a threat to our home…. Seeing our earth in its glory (the fresh air, the clean water, the plants) makes life a bit easier sometimes. That’s a feeling that I want to be preserved and shared with the next generations.”
Kilhah was born in Brooklyn and moved to Queens in elementary school. She lives in a diverse community alongside Latinx, African, and Indian neighbors. She’s passionate about sharing her thoughts and emotions through writing and evoking a reaction in others -- whether it be disagreement or inspiration. Kilhah is excited to be participating in Climate Speaks in order to raise awareness about climate change, which she believes to be misunderstood and mostly poorly taught, by mixing it with a familiar form of art.
The Unwilling Jailer
Blue depths
Holder of euphoria and life
I enshroud the senses
Sometimes I am unmoving
Shy, a bit cautious
The wind nudges me forward gently
My fingertips graze over hot grains
Before I must retreat
Other times
A heat swells in the pits of my stomach
Excitement floods my veins
I stand tall onto the tips of my toes
Trembles overcome me
I reel forward
Curled up into myself
Cold water rushes down
Salty taste, cool touch
Within me lives
The gems of this earth
Great white bears
Rest on icy blocks
Forming homes for their young
Humans enjoy my shallow waters
Laughing, splashing.
I wash away worry
Ease seeping deep into their bones
Yet, something creeps in
Poison coated claws sink into me
Infecting, tainting
The icy blocks are it’s first victims
I cannot speak when they cry
Their bodies lessening with each passing day
I cannot move when I bloat
Overfilling with their remains
Shoves and howls
Replace nudges and laughter
Trees snap
Against the wind
He runs in circles
Dragging me along
My falls turn hazardous
Wood splints underneath the pressure
I tear through the homes of my humans
Furniture
Pictures
Memories
Destroyed
I wrap around their wrists and ankles;
Watery chains weigh down
Until they gasp, claw, and struggle
Their freedom is stolen
I am silenced
As my form distorts
As I slap shackles on the innocent
As fingers point, turning the blame onto me
As I become jailer of a prison
Soaked in blood and tears
Founded by a force born from my accusers
Who are they to declare me the villian?
They are the ones who pollute this earth
Burning materials without thought
They say the pains aren’t real
“Climate change? Oh, that’s just a theory.”
I scoff
If it’s not real, why do I feel the symptoms of an incoming epidemic.
My body aches, my knees shake
Stomach twisting and knotting
Cotton stuff head
Pressure building
A storm is brewing
But hey,
The Unwilling Jailer
What could i know, I’m just an ocean.
I’ll shut my eyes and cover my ears
I will play my part
Become the horrible, unfeeling ocean
And watch as our beautiful earth is pulled apart
By her children.
