Backtrack | Teen Ink

Backtrack

February 3, 2014
By lovelycheese GOLD, Cupertino, California
lovelycheese GOLD, Cupertino, California
11 articles 0 photos 136 comments

Favorite Quote:
"If you have something to do, then do it. You can't get wasted time back." ~Ben Carson.


“You can check it. Anything. Just don’t mess with my account,” says the baby-faced, foul-mouthed adult, his salty tears washing a feigned textbook. Backtrack ten years ago in that dirty apartment and half-open door, sneaking eyes and harsh insults. Our world consisted of muddy handball games and follow-the-leader biking trips, coming home to broken CDs splayed on the floor–some semblance of family, I guess.

“It’s disgusting. He’s disgusting,” continues the wrinkled, saddened, maddened, and everything else in between man. Backtrack to when nights are days and days are nights, and pain is a constant friend perched on a hobbled shoulder. Fragmented caresses of to-be love blows through the heavily silent air and leaves the other side of the bed unoccupied.

“What did you just say?” screeches the next one, her eyes of splintered steel and fraying hair. There’s nothing but recycled words that go unheard, raw throats and grinding teeth, a skeletal figure with burned-over eyes. Backtrack to the unsatisfied, always unsatisfied. Liquid disappointment is second blood.

And feel that welling hole in your chest, the blackening and withering–a tastefully abstract picture admired by all the others. It’s art, they say. It’s mine.


The author's comments:
I wrote this in a thrilling, furious rush last night. It took me about 5-10 minutes (didn't time myself, but it was one of the quickest pieces I've ever produced, even on a whim). Just some minor tweaks here and there since then, but I hope you enjoy it!

Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 3 comments.


on Feb. 14 2014 at 9:34 pm
kikixkupkake GOLD, San Marcos, California
17 articles 0 photos 92 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The things that walk out when we open our minds." -Dylan McCoy

Don't take this the wrong way, but I would LOVE to have a conversation with you on a bad day!! Don't stop posting (:

on Feb. 14 2014 at 3:13 am
lovelycheese GOLD, Cupertino, California
11 articles 0 photos 136 comments

Favorite Quote:
"If you have something to do, then do it. You can't get wasted time back." ~Ben Carson.

Aw thank you Kiki! I think this is the first time I've posted my writing in a couple of years, so it's incredibly refreshing to read such kind comments from readers like you. This piece was actually the product of me having a really bad day (HAHA) but I'm glad you liked it. :) 

on Feb. 11 2014 at 9:13 pm
kikixkupkake GOLD, San Marcos, California
17 articles 0 photos 92 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The things that walk out when we open our minds." -Dylan McCoy

OH MY GOSH. OH MY GOSH. I AM IN COMPLETE AND UTTER LOVE, YOUR WORK AMAZES ME AND I AM SO HONORED JUST TO BE GRACED WITH BEING ABLE TO READ IT ONLINE. I AM IN LOVE. Serious talk: this poem is literally going into my favorites. Your vocabulary and wonderful motif of the backtrack just amazes me so much. Did I mention that I am in love? I wish I could hear this out loud, I'm reading it out loud to myself and just completely mesmerized with the amount of beauty and emotion and magnificence that this poem is laced with. Your lines get me into this strange sort of being, I'm reading this over and over again in awe. How have more people not seen this yet? It should be in the magazine, I have no clue why it's not. This is so fantastic. I mean, "Liquid disappointment is second blood"??? That's literature that should be framed. I'm quoting that and hanging it in my bedroom. Thank you for posting this!! I'm trying to fathom where you got this inspiration to write this... It's one of the best things I've ever read.