An Ode to You | Teen Ink

An Ode to You

July 20, 2023
By jamesrhee SILVER, Atlanta, Georgia
jamesrhee SILVER, Atlanta, Georgia
8 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Tonight I watched you.

We lay under the popcorn ceiling

that poured down specs of forgotten paint

like the soft drum of water that falls outside

 

Your head nestled into the pocket of my shoulder

like the stock of my grandfather's rifle

you shot just hours before.

 

But now you lay here.

 

Your breath smells of mint

but not of drugs store toothpaste.

More like the candy that I 

placed into your smiling mouth as we drove back

 

You eyes pull me closer

As a moon pulls the tides

As the sun grabs the earth

As a blackhole absorbs all light.


The author's comments:

James Rhee is a Korean American writer who is passionate about writing as a powerful tool for change, growth, education, and identity. He is a junior and Writing Fellow at the Westminster Schools in Atlanta, where he is also a section editor for the school newspaper and is the upcoming editor in chief. His work has been published in the Kenyon Young Writers Anthology, Embryo, Evolutions, Veritas, and others. He is an alum of the Creative Writing Institute, IOWA Young Writers Studio, Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshop, Yale Journalism Symposium, and JCamp. His work has been recognized by the Scholastic Arts and Writing Awards. His literary works are centered around the powerful emotions created through various relationships, focusing upon capturing the feeling that is evoked through a snapshot during the relationship.


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