Stairwell to Perfect | Teen Ink

Stairwell to Perfect MAG

July 19, 2009
By SarahWaters SILVER, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
SarahWaters SILVER, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
8 articles 0 photos 18 comments

The elevator won't take me to perfect.
It's a long way to go.
Nobody expects me to get there.

Nobody, except everybody.

I've got an appointment with perfection –
Gotta be there by 33.

I've been told I could get lost –
Pass the A+ on your right,
But go no more than 102 pounds.

Nobody agrees which floor perfection is on.
Some settle for floor 14 – love.
Others at floor 22 – money.
I've got the world telling me how I can get there.

When I started, my dreams were big.
I could make it.
But I've been sweating, wheezing, and I wish there was an escalator.
I wish there weren't so many varied directions and long, twisting halls.
I wish I could just follow the yellow brick road.

When I'm exhausted, and rest at a B+,
Everyone tells me I'm in the wrong place.
I'm not reaching my potential perfection.
That's a few floors up
In space.

I'm done.
I can climb a flight of stairs all my life,
But Mars is a height not in this building.
I've reached the top floor:
Decent.
And there's only one direction left to go.

Would you like to push me down?



Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 4 comments.


on Apr. 27 2012 at 9:42 am
ElizabethHolt BRONZE, Grandville, Michigan
2 articles 0 photos 3 comments

This is really good! I love the words you have choosen to use! I loved how you included the yellow brick road.

Good Job!


on Aug. 2 2009 at 5:16 pm
Wow! This poetry is timeless. I can imagine a group like "Train" singing this. With some tiny adjustments, this could be a hit song. There are many people of various ages that share the emotion of this poem. Keep writing! Best Wishes, Your Italian Grandmother's Goddaughter

on Aug. 1 2009 at 8:11 pm
This one makes me feel sad. If you can get your reader to feel emotion you have been successful. I just hope you're feeling better now.

evr said...
on Aug. 1 2009 at 6:10 pm
This is fantastic work Sarah! I love both Poems, really makes you think and captures a feeling many teens must feel NICE!