Teen Ink: Opinions: Endangered from our Teen Magazine

Teen Ink: Teen Magazine, Poetry, Blogs, College, Music, Movie & Book Reviews, Fiction

Advanced Search

Article title:
Words within article:
Section of website:
Article appears on:
Author's first name:
Author's last initial:
Author's city:
Author's state:
Author's country:

Teen Ink
Print Magazine >

Past Issues

« Previous Article

Opinions Index

Next Article »

Endangered

Sabiha R., Huntsville, AL

Rate this article:

By Joshua O., The Woodlands, TX

(or what the African refugee said to the American environmentalist)

I wish I were a spotted toad
instead of a human being:
a slippery little amphibian
rather than a displaced villager
wandering the genocidal desert
that way,
when the guerrillas come,
and our homes are pillaged
and destroyed, and
my people are
raped -
brutalized -
murdered -
you would hear our tortured cries
you and your army of
fashionably benevolent friends
would rush your money,
your resources, and sometimes
even your own persons
across the globe
to save me, to save us
You would fight off
our enemies, and
rebuild our homes -
you would make sure
we would never go
hungry again;
But I am
not a spotted toad;
I am a man,
a human being
of the same flesh, and
the same blood,
who cries the same tears
and dreams the same dreams;
Yes, I am
not a spotted toad,
and as such, it seems that I am
not entitled to your compassion

« Previous Article

Index

Next Article »

Home | Privacy Policy | Site Map | Contact Us | Tell a Friend

Teen Ink PO Box 30 Newton, MA 02461 (617) 964-6800 editor@teenink.com
Copyright 2008 by Teen Ink, The 21st Century and The Young Authors Foundation, Inc. All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the written permission of the publisher: The Young Authors Foundation, Inc.

Teen Ink is a national teen magazine, book and website featuring teen writing, information, art, photos, poetry, teen issues and more. All articles are written by teen authors who are students at schools. The monthly print magazine is appropriate for any teenager -- teenagers age 13 to 19 attending secondary school: junior high school, middle school and high school. This publication is used by professional people including English teachers, writing teachers, language arts instructors, journalism teachers, school newspaper advisors, librarians, guidance counselors, K-12 principals in addition to the PTA or PTO. Each issue of Teen Ink magazine contains a wide variety of student work: we publish nonfiction, fiction, poems, community service, sports, heroes, interviews, college essays, college reviews, book reviews, concert reviews, movie reviews, music reviews, video reviews, video game reviews, the environment, opinion, sports, pets, cars, automobiles, travel and culture, jobs and money, health issues, artwork, photographs, cartoons, short stories, essays, writing contests, a college directory and the website also has a bulletin board and resources for teens and educators. Subjects include racism, eating disorders, depression, death, suicide, family, relationships, jobs, grandparents, violence, the college process, college information, colleges, driving, self esteem, the arts, movies and more. Teen Ink is also a book series published by HCI Teens. Subjects covered in the book include Friends, Fitting In, Love, Challenges, Family, Heroes, Loss and Memories. Teen Ink was established in 1989 as The 21st Century magazine by The Young Authors Foundation, a nonprofit organization. More than 25,000 teens have been published in the magazine and its companion Poetry Journal. Teen Ink runs a London Summer Program for teenage writers.