NORTHEAST OHIO
​YOUTH OUTLET

I'm a Shapeshifter

Poetry by ​Thomas Smith

I’m a shapeshifter, lost to the silent but deadly rain
An endless masquerade, filled with masks which lack an identity
A smile that will dance in the night, yet will never be found again
The unmistakable scent of isolation, polluting the air like the black plague
I’m a shapeshifter, lost to the cold but warm embrace
A desolate corpse, left to decay eight feet under
A single tear on his face, wiped away by tissues
The chilling whispers in the wind, telling me I’m not there
I’m a shapeshifter, a clock that doesn’t tell the time
A relentless car not willing to drive
A salty ocean, drowning itself in lonely pits of water
The depressing fear of being locked away, knowing that nothing changed
I’m a shapeshifter, mixed in with an anonymous crowd
A wilted flower, that died today
A tree that has new leaves, but the same roots

Thomas Smith

Thomas Smith is a growing writer who is interested in all types of writing such as short stories, poetry, horror, blackout poetry, etc. He currently attends The Cleveland School Of The Arts as a Sophomore, and mainly considers himself as a "horror fanatic" who gets inspired by horror novels/games and puts his own twist to the ideas he gets from them. This is going to be his second year getting published by the Creative Writing department, he hopes to finish his upcoming horror novel “Devil Town” and to focus more on illustrating/animating for his work.

About Cleveland School of the Arts

The Cleveland School of the Arts (CSA), an arts high school in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, is the region’s only comprehensive performing, visual, and creative arts public high school. Gordon Square Review editors selected the poems in this issue’s Youth Outlet section from submissions from CSA’s Creative Writing program, where students study poetry, playwriting, short fiction, and literary theory while developing their skills as writers.