Andrew Kang, First Place winner in our Seventh Annual Narrative High School Writing Contest, is a member of the class of 2023 at Gilman School in Baltimore, Maryland.

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by Andrew Kang
Listen to Andrew Kang read his poem:



We take it slow. Deeper,
      I say, and deeper she cuts.
           Her hands smooth over
                   my nape, my scalp, my ears.

Grandma says I look like a soldier.
      Doesn’t know I plan on dyeing
           it moss-green, like Frank Ocean, or a dissident
                   lavender.


I listen to the hair clipper murmur,
      every strand falling deeper into
           tenderness. It doesn’t matter
                   if she never understands me.


Read the other winners of the Seventh Annual High School Writing Contest. . .

“My Neighbors Make a Ghost,” by Stella Lei, second place
“Drills,” by Bella Koschalk, third place