The Golden Key

The night was dark; the wind was cold,
The moon was hidden behind a cloud.
A child walked through the shadows,
The wind her cloak, the dark her shroud.
No colour caressed this dull, drab world,
Save for a glint of gold
That she held within her hand,
As she walked along the wold.

The old trees whispered in the wind,
Whispered to the quiet night
Of peace and serenity,
Of happiness and light.
They told of times gone by,
Though the child wished them not.
But till the peace came once again,
The quiet hills were all she’d got.

The only place of serenity,
The only place of quiet calm.
And the only way into the peace,
Rested upon her palm.
Far away in the distance,
The child heard a lone wolf howl.
How much the wolf was like her,
Lonely in this world so foul.

And still she walked on and on,
Up the misty hill.
Though her village was far behind,
The child kept walking still.
She walked from all of the pain,
She walked from all of the tears,
But though she walked from all of this,
She couldn’t run from her fears.

What in this world of adults
Struck terror in one so young?
Her mother had died of a fever,
For stealing, her father hung.
A crystalline tear fell down her face,
At the memory of all her pain.
It splashed onto the muddy ground,
Indistinguishable from the rain.

She stole a quick glance,
At what lay in her palm,
It was a shining golden key
That locked her away from harm.
The tiny key was all she’d got,
Was all she still held dear,
Everything else had been taken,
Except for the silence here.

As the child walked farther on,
A sound could soon be heard.
Merry laughter approached her ears,
And all her sadness was cured.
Seeing her destination, she walked
Towards a glowing light,
Towards a picturesque cottage,
Unaffected by the dark, cold night.

A thin smile emerged on her face,
The child approached the door with glee,
Thrice she knocked on the door,
Then took from her hand the key.
The key that shone and sparkled,
The key that glittered and gleamed.
Its intricate beauty and elaborate splendour
Was the best in the land, it seemed.

Reverently, she slipped it into the keyhole,
With a click it granted her access.
She pushed the door and with a creak,
It entered to reveal peace, no less.
The child smiled as the people approached,
Stretching her arms out wide.
As their ghostly limbs passed through hers,
“ Let me join you in peace!” she cried.
The ghosts smiled warmly,
And the girl welcomed her own decease.
And the last thought of her living body was
“ I’m at peace…peace…peace.”

by Victoria Barrett

Year 7,
Woldgate College, Pocklington.

March 2006