Running Girl, by Jordan Makant

Running Girl  
(for shosana)

after it all becomes too much, the girl begins to run.
she is running away from her past life,
running away from her future life, her death.
she is running away from those that ruined 
her brothers, her fathers and mothers,  
running away from the those that would ruin her. 
she is running away from everything 
she knows to be good and right and true,
toward the great unknown
with no one beside her. 
she is running away 
and she does not know where she is going – 
she does not want to know – it does not matter.
they begin to follow, give chase,
but then they stop, 
smile, laugh, smile all the more.
they do not need to shoot her,
do not need to do anything. 
they have done their job. 
the world will take care of her, they think,
and they are right, of course. 
the girl is running away, and maybe 
she is even making good speed,
making progress, but 
she is running toward nothing, 
and she has nothing, 
and she is nothing. 
they know this. 
they forget, however, 
the running girl is not just one thing.
running girl can write. running girl can sing. 

Jordan Makant

This poem was inspired by the film, Inglorious Bastards.

Jordan Makant is a senior at Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, NC. He is an Assistant Editor for Scott Owens' Wild Goose Poetry Review and a co-founder for the Hickory, NC based theatre arts charity, the Hickory Playground. Previous publications include Rat's Ass Review, The Main Street Rag, and Winston-Salem Writers' Poetry in Plain Sight project.