Jhanvi Vipin shares an autumnal poem in celebration of the UK’s National Poetry Day 2022 (6 October).

Hollow
By Jhanvi Vipin
the winds of change are finally here
and I feel like a maple tree
firm and true
changing colour every season
in the fall, there were certain seeds
the locals would call them ‘helicopters’
because they would spin, spin, spin
to the ground
my friends are like them
they spin until it’s time for them to burst
i’m a little different
i just stick to my roots
there are moments where I feel hollow
unable to see tomorrow
unable to move
afraid that I won’t be standing by my people
a hollow maple tree
unmoving and still
older and full of memory
but roots far below, seeping into the soil
perhaps that’s where I belong
lying in the meadows of mother earth
touching the life that grows by me
at my own pace
but in this world of spinning seeds
maybe it’s alright to be a maple tree
Student journalist pursuing her undergraduate in Journalism, Media and Communications + Politics and International Relations at the University of Strathclyde. Hopes to write a diverse number of pieces. <3
Multimedia Editor of ST (2022/23). Current Social Media Editor (2023-).