‘A Sister's Perspective’

Hayeon Kim is a 10th-grade student at Branksome Hall Asia with a strong focus on Fine Arts and Visual Arts. She is passionate about exploring creative expression through studio-based work and visual storytelling. Through her artistic practice, she continues to develop a distinctive voice and a thoughtful approach to contemporary art.

A Sister's Perspective

I build universes outside your bedroom door

Wondrous places I plan to go with you

I put together the tales of the land

While you take your time getting to the doorknob

But I guess you must have been far

The maze to the gates must have tricked you into another realm 

Because you never made it 

Or heard my calls for play

But it’s okay

Because when we sit at the table for dinner 

I can remind you of the fairytale 

But if you’re not there

I guess I could wait another day 

And then more after that

But eventually my knees might ache in your wait

Maybe I’ll wait in my room instead

The back burner has always been a familiar warmth 

The door may be closed, but I’ll be there at your call 

But I hope you’ll stop by 

And ask if it's finally time to go to Wonderland

I used to kick my little sister out of my room

Because playing seemed more like a chore than fun 

She would bang on the door 

Only for me to turn up the volume 

Between music and friends 

But eventually 

The knocking dried up 

And what I thought would be certain

Changed its course

Because now my door stays silent 

And I lay and bed hoping to hear a knock from frail fists

From the little girl who just wanted to feel loved

Because now I sit on the other side of her door

Begging for scraps

Imagining the days 

Of innocence 

Before the realization set in 

That I am now the one

Who just wants to play with her sister

Margaret Vihnly is a Toronto native and an up-and-coming writer of her own making. 'Own making' in the sense that all of her writing comes in the dark of night, under a veil of sleep, so that she may be left unbothered for a few hours until life comes back online. It is a sanctuary that lives only in her mind and within a hard drive, gathering dust, and hopefully, now for the world to read.