Mining | Teen Ink

Mining MAG

April 7, 2015
By ClaireM. ELITE, Albany, New York
ClaireM. ELITE, Albany, New York
109 articles 14 photos 33 comments

When your youthful command of language
is not enough to convey
what swings its jaws inside you,
when you stand pulling from your shelf
volumes written by the great and inimitable –
names that inspire centuries of admiration,
minds that managed what you cannot,
their icy clarity pummeling you
like a stream of fists,
you of trembling and grief
and writhing weariness –
when your age prohibits you from expressing
your apocalyptic, purgatorial verve,
you don’t stop trying,
you let the sun drop and rise
and then
you launch your body at this wall again,
you bruise yourself willingly,
you throw your whole weight into the crash,
you work up a fury of hope, an improbable recklessness,
you keep going and going and going
never mind the blood in your mouth or bells in your ears
because you are the whale that beaches itself by choice
and you are right to be this way,
you are brave to keep looking for gold



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This article has 10 comments.


on May. 4 2016 at 9:50 pm
PresleyH DIAMOND, Elsmere, Kentucky
65 articles 0 photos 15 comments

Favorite Quote:
There is freedom waiting for you<br /> on the breezes of the sky,<br /> and you ask &ldquo;What if I fall?&rdquo; <br /> Oh, but my darling,<br /> what if you fly?<br /> <br /> ~Eric Hanson

I was looking through a physical Teen Ink magazine at school and found this poem and loved it so much that I wrote the title down so that I could come comment. I LOVE this poem; it perfectly expresses the frustration all of us feel when we are unable to articulate the emotions swirling within us. I have copied this poem (with your name, of course!) into my writing journal for inspiration. You are a PHENOMENAL writer, please don't ever stop. :)

on May. 9 2015 at 9:14 pm
Ray--yo PLATINUM, Kathmandu, Other
43 articles 2 photos 581 comments

Favorite Quote:
God Makes No Mistakes. (Gaga?)<br /> &quot;I have hated the words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right.&quot; -Liesel Meminger via Markus Zusac, &quot;The Book Thief&quot;

I'm really glad to see this getting published so soon. Congratulations!

ClaireM. ELITE said...
on Apr. 10 2015 at 8:32 am
ClaireM. ELITE, Albany, New York
109 articles 14 photos 33 comments
Thank you JRaye! What a fabulous compliment

JRaye PLATINUM said...
on Apr. 9 2015 at 10:16 pm
JRaye PLATINUM, Dorr, Michigan
43 articles 10 photos 523 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;If you build your house far enough away from Trouble, then Trouble will never find you.&quot;<br /> <br /> &quot;Have you ever looked fear in the face and said, &#039;I just don&#039;t care.&#039;?&quot;

This is perfection. I'm not sure how else to put it - perhaps because my age prohibits me from expressing my apocalyptic, purgatorial verve ;). Sincerely though, this is absolutely amazing and relateable and I am in LOVE with it - you are an artist! :)

ClaireM. ELITE said...
on Apr. 9 2015 at 3:45 pm
ClaireM. ELITE, Albany, New York
109 articles 14 photos 33 comments
Thank you SO MUCH

Beila BRONZE said...
on Apr. 9 2015 at 2:51 pm
Beila BRONZE, Palo Alto, California
3 articles 0 photos 516 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.&quot; -Mark Twain

Wow, the voice here is tangible, the imagery nearly literally crashing through the screen with power of its own. "The whale that beaches itself by choice"-- wow.

ClaireM. ELITE said...
on Apr. 9 2015 at 10:56 am
ClaireM. ELITE, Albany, New York
109 articles 14 photos 33 comments
You are so kind. Thank you dear.

ClaireM. ELITE said...
on Apr. 9 2015 at 10:55 am
ClaireM. ELITE, Albany, New York
109 articles 14 photos 33 comments
Thank you so much. One day we will emerge from this hotbed of frustration, but it takes time.

on Apr. 9 2015 at 9:26 am
theblondechick GOLD, Kingsport, Tennessee
14 articles 0 photos 104 comments

Favorite Quote:
I want to live and feel all the shades, tones, and variations of mental and physical experience possible in life. <br /> And I am horribly limited. <br /> -Sylvia Path

This is wonderful. You perfectly captured the souls of young writers who don't think they have what it takes. Great job.

on Apr. 9 2015 at 12:25 am
Ray--yo PLATINUM, Kathmandu, Other
43 articles 2 photos 581 comments

Favorite Quote:
God Makes No Mistakes. (Gaga?)<br /> &quot;I have hated the words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right.&quot; -Liesel Meminger via Markus Zusac, &quot;The Book Thief&quot;

God, this is just incredible. I'll add this as a favorite, you are something else, truly.