No Saviors
by Hadley Bruno
The College of Charleston
Hadley Bruno, a senior at The College of Charleston, is an Integrated Studies major. She hopes to make use of her areas of study, creative writing and studio art, to write and illustrate children's books after graduating in May of 2026. In her poems and short stories, she strives to show the world through her eyes to the reader, and bridge gaps in understanding.
It is lonely to live in the past surrounded by ghosts.
People you once knew. Once shared meals with. Once laughed with.
Memories lose sweetness to the bitterness of age. Is anyone listening? acknow ledgeme
the gelatinous goo of my brain oozes onto a keyboard in front of a blank page. Writers write, right? Itchy eyes. I blink over the two roasted brussels sprouts occupying my sockets. posies in pockets.
I am hidden in plain sight. Never sought, never found.
ick. The clock would tick if I had a clock, if I could read analog. I can’t. write. good. I can hear the sound of Silence. Has it always sounded like that? So Loud? Maybe it’s like the taste of water? The absence of taste tastes awful. the absence of words looks blank.
Once there was a princess locked high in a tower.
Her father wanted to protect her from the world.
To the princess her father was the world.
nope. I pick a loose bit of skin from my finger. I pull but it doesn’t come off. Like string cheese, it goes on. A drop of blood oozes- like the goo in my jelly head. bed. Not yet. I pull my hair back and focus- kaleidoscope veil? twirly color over the pure pale screen.
The lonely princess aged
Memories became nightmares
The sweet youth replaced with bitter maturity
She was left with a choice, to be or
not to be dramatic, but why can’t I form a coherent thought? Holy Shakespeare! I am losing my marbles. a dark room with night-time windows.
A pale, sickly reflection in the panes. channel the sorrowful apparitions of script. Guide me! Lazy Fingers! Move. ghost story illumination of a white screen on my face.
Who will protect the world from the disillusioned princess?
She will not have her vengeance denied.
In the dark there are no saviors.