A Beauty Mantra
Iam not beautiful,
physically.
I am fully aware of that.
But it is betterthis way
(to be
unbeautiful).
I suffer noinfatuations,
stares,
or fantasies stroking at some
distorted image ofme
in dark, locked rooms at night.
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Antidote, Please
I spy him in the hall
Among our shoutingclassmates.
Loud I-told-you-sos and see-ya-laters echo around me.
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Eggplant Parm
This selection can be found in Teen Ink: Written in theDirt, the sixth in the Teen Ink book series, comprised all of fiction andpoetry. All six books are available in bookstores nationwide and online.
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Eternally Fall
Eternallyfall
Keeping giants from being reborn.
Arduously dragging mysins
Through the dark of darks.
Stars in the trees sparkle andshine
Guiding my journey to nowhere.
Spider webs in the sky catch the rain
That threatens to wash away my wrongs.
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First Love
Not so long ago, in a place not so far away
I left my first lovein Clearwater beach
I remember upreaching condos, fading into Dad'srearview
Into night sky neon lights gently left me, too
She swallowedbodies,
then crashed onto the shore
Reminded me of
The ...
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imagination
confusedand prone to wandering
through my jumbled mind
past rocket ships and acidtrips
and colors of all kinds
swimming through fluorescent sky
pasttrees of pink and blue
cartwheeling into boiling seas
of words I one timeknew
orange thoughts caress my skin
ideas ...
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Learning
Blah,blah, blah, blah,
She is talking. I think.
We sit there, feigningattention.
Pretending to listen.
Is it math? Or maybe biology?
Doesanyone know? Or care?
A lecture on something,
That we'll need to knowfor life.
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My Orange-Handled Fiskars
(afterMark Doty)
Not, exactly, orange:
closer to pumpkin
molded intouncomfortable handles.
Contoured edges dig
into my thumb and pointerfinger
leaving indentations in my flesh.
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Name Calling
OnMonday she was Christie.
On Tuesday she was Christy.
On Wednesday she wasKristi.
On Thursday she was Cristee.
On Friday she wasKrystee.
Every weekday she was different,
But yet she sounds thesame
But on the weekend she was Bertha
(that was her real name).
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Patching Odium
Itis strange how I float
after an afternoon with you
and how I sink
fromthe loneliness thereafter.
I can't feel anything
but this ache,
thispain
from the lack of breath between us.
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Requiem?
today
at10 a.m.
my great-grandmother died
I
remember nothing
save sunspots onher
wrinkly, wavy, hanging skin
my mom says twice
I feel the death of anera
I am shamed
because I don't
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Summer Days
Walkinga narrow lake without a paddle
at the beginning of summer days
you grabbedmy hand and pushed me in
laughing as you followed.
Having caught me ina dream
walking between the waves
you tiptoed up behind me
playfullyflirting like in fifth grade.
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The First Fall Frost
Anearly frost for winter, which is late for Fall
Crystallizes blades ofgrass,
to crunching freezer burn.
Tender plant stems witness
an almostdarker, cooler wind
that Winter touches earth.
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The Thrills of Spontaneity
and so we took offin a whirlwind of
pulsating speakers and abandoned insecurities
tryingto break the sound barrier
in a '94 Toyota Camry
* * * *
we barreledover potholes and
every unfulfilled expectation
as we cranked up thevolume
until the dial finally broke ...
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untitled
i just fell in love withlanguage,
says the poet, pausing
between sips of perrier-and-lime,
asif he and language
had shared a table, red wine,
and an orange sunset.
i imagine him falling for words like
peridot, hydrangea, cacao.
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Why I Didn't Do My Homework
You'veheard many excuses
About why my homework wasn't done
Like when I said mygoldfish ate it
When I was really just having fun
But this time I will behonest
This time it is true
I wanted to do my homework
But my parentssaid not to
They told me to drop the book
And ...
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