The Changeling myth typically illustrates a child or adolescent wandering off from home, with what returns looking like the same child but in actual fact, is something entirely different.
Acting both as a cautionary tale to warn against playing too far from home and as an allegory for the changes of adolescence, the myth reflects a state of flux in which an imperceptible difference emerges and entitled shifts a situation.
Midnight People takes inspiration from this myth, considering the transformative property of wandering from home, of seeking independence and claiming space as one’s own.
I got to top of field and when I turned around there it was.
Looking back at me through the morning,I choked on it. The fresh grass,
The pugilist.
I walked back down the field to the stile,
It was wet and heavy with dew.Once I got over there it was again, In the fallow field.
Laid to rest.
Above the daisy and cowslip, Behind the cops.Brighter this time, Pulsating.
I thought it be wise to lay down with the earth,
My legs no longer fit to carry my thinking.Over exposed, This time was different so I stayed longer.
This is what belonging feels like i thought to myself Love is an action,
Words do not suffice.It got closer to me,
As I weeped in the barley.
Eyes orange,Eyelids translucent.
Purpose filled me to the brim,I'm not alone in this place, And never have been.
The path didn't walk itself into a contour.
So far so good
So far so good
So far so good
So far…. So good.
By Sam Batley