Known | Haley Newland

Being seen is a breath of fresh air on
a dry summer day. The feeling of opening
a door to display a room filled with intricate paintings
and soaring ceilings. The feeling of your first dive
into a pool as the sun rises behind you. The feeling
of long pale green grass moving and swaying
in a sea as one body. The feeling of the first fall of snow,
sparkling on the frozen ground and brightening up even
the worst of days. The feeling of smiles, laughter, fun.
The feeling of the start when the end is not even
in sight. The feeling of feeling.

Being seen is a pen that shocks you instead of allowing
you to write your story. The feeling of waking
from cold water droplets spilling onto your face, soaking
into your bedsheets. The feeling of stepping onto a stone
across a river, jerking as your feet slip beneath you. The
feeling of your sister hiding behind a corner, jumping out
when you least expect it. The feeling of hitting your elbow
in the right spot to send vibrations through your body
for the rest of the day. The feeling of shadows, darkness, dusk.
The feeling of the beginning of the end, and the trap that
coincides within. The feeling of nothing.

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Behind the Writing

“The first stanza of this piece actually came fairly easy to me, and originally, the piece was just going to be the first stanza. As I got thinking more, I decided I wanted to show two sides of “being seen” and so I ended up modeling the second stanza off the first. I tried to get them to be about the same size with the same amount of sentences in order to draw parallels between each part, changing both stanzas accordingly. Once I finished revising, I thought about adding one or two more lines to the piece, but I like how it’s just the two short stanzas because I think those say enough without anything else.”

Haley Newland (IG: @newlandhaley)