Dead Photographs | Teen Ink

Dead Photographs MAG

By Anonymous

     I remember a pianist with a temper
who bent time to fit an ocean
in a measure, but was delicate enough
to wait for the rain to fall.
I remember the curly laugh of a short
man, who, with pursed lips,
drew a rich melody from a golden
saxophone and swaying feet.
Their eyes were closed,
breathing long forgotten,
both drunken with the moment of being.
I was thrown into the sea after
my father discovered I never learned how to swim. There, I felt my legs struggle forever in a neutral ocean.
I remember summer in my grandmother’s dim room. Crouching, she whispered that
dying was easy for a human.
And that night, I sat sideways on my
cousin’s bicycle as he flew down
lonely streets, where he told me
his dreams in a language I cannot
remember.




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This article has 29 comments.


i love this so much!

This is so true. Your great at writing. :)

on Oct. 13 2017 at 11:12 am
Breezette DIAMOND, Uniontown, Arkansas
84 articles 0 photos 58 comments

Favorite Quote:
Every Time I even think of you, all those bad memories just fade away, 'cause your smile's enough, you're enough...

I literally can't find the words to describe how beautiful this poem is, and I just, wow. You Definitely need to keep writing!!!!!!

on Nov. 30 2016 at 5:29 am
LeisurelySketches GOLD, Tricity, Other
10 articles 1 photo 73 comments

Favorite Quote:
Your life has a limit but knowledge has none. (Zhuangzi)

It's great how you have expressed so much in so little. I think keeping the meaning obscure is what clicks in the poem. Great idea.

on Oct. 12 2016 at 6:44 pm
resegonzales16 BRONZE, Paranaque, California
1 article 0 photos 1 comment
loved it! very inspiring

j2250 DIAMOND said...
on Jun. 19 2016 at 8:41 pm
j2250 DIAMOND, North Andover, Massachusetts
74 articles 9 photos 37 comments
Amazing poem! Wow!

on Feb. 8 2016 at 6:53 pm
Emerald01 ELITE, Charlotte, North Carolina
182 articles 13 photos 13 comments

Favorite Quote:
"We are always feeling every emotion, but only a few are screaming."

I love this.

on Aug. 17 2015 at 5:06 pm
gubblebum112 BRONZE, Spring,
4 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
"I've always spent more time with a smile on my face than not, but the thing is, I don't write about it."- Robert Smith

Wow. What a striking piece. The wording: the metaphors, even though I can't understand them. Beautiful.

on Jul. 26 2015 at 8:03 am
SomeoneMagical PLATINUM, Durham, New Hampshire
22 articles 1 photo 259 comments
I loved it.

on Jun. 10 2015 at 10:37 am
carolinef0x BRONZE, Charleston, South Carolina
3 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
That&#039;s where I should be. This is not what I should be doing. This is somebody else. <br /> -Saul Fletcher

SO beautiful! Well done

ADPJ_ BRONZE said...
on May. 15 2015 at 9:11 pm
ADPJ_ BRONZE, Springfield, Massachusetts
1 article 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
The game stays the same kid... The players they change but this game we&#039;re playing called life that stays the same until we beat it... or get eleminated


on May. 15 2015 at 12:27 pm
ChloeCook SILVER, Independence, Kentucky
8 articles 0 photos 12 comments

Favorite Quote:
If I exhaled parachutes, I may breathe from great heights.

Absolutely love this poem.

on Apr. 19 2015 at 2:49 pm
EvalynnHeather GOLD, Clemmons, North Carolina
16 articles 4 photos 64 comments
I just love this, especially because I play piano and my good friend plays saxophone... well done!!

on Feb. 26 2015 at 11:12 pm
Temma1026 BRONZE, New York, New York
1 article 0 photos 5 comments
This poem is striking for me. The imagery that you used and the descriptive language took me on a journey while reading the poem. I also loved the ending! You have serious talent!

on Oct. 3 2014 at 11:29 am
LuaJoyce BRONZE, Hamburg, Other
3 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
&ldquo;I want - I want - I want - was all that she could think about - but just what this real want was she did not know.&rdquo;<br /> ― Carson McCullers, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

This is beautiful! The last sentence carries so many feelings. It is somehow heavy, yet it seems to be floating...

on Sep. 10 2014 at 8:34 am
AmazinGracey PLATINUM, Wilmington, Delaware
24 articles 6 photos 25 comments
Beautifully composed.

on Jun. 10 2014 at 11:43 pm
sabrina1499 BRONZE, Staten Island, New York
3 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
&quot;If your eyes can speak, what would they say?&quot;

Absolutely loved it!! 

on Apr. 13 2014 at 3:05 pm
LavanderMayday SILVER, Oroville, California
7 articles 0 photos 72 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Writers aren&#039;t exactly one person, they&#039;re a whole bunch of people trying to be one person&quot;

Woooow!!!! very very well done!!! =D I really extremly loved this poem..it was truly awesome. Please give some feedback on my poem. =D Thanks! -Alex

OldYoungOne said...
on Nov. 16 2012 at 3:14 pm
Scattered memories are the best memories but anyways I like the peom and the direction it took me :)   Would you mind reading my pieces as well? I would appreciate it greatly if you gave me feedback on my work.

Kiyoko GOLD said...
on Jan. 29 2011 at 11:12 am
Kiyoko GOLD, Knoxville, Tennessee
10 articles 0 photos 43 comments

Favorite Quote:
Independence is my happiness, I view things as they are without regard to place or person. My country is the world, and my religion is to do good. - Thomas Paine

This has a lot of great lines. Very inventive descriptions. Check out my work?