The Things I Have Learned | Teen Ink

The Things I Have Learned

October 13, 2010
By Anonymous

The wind scrapes my shoulder,
a knife too dull to cut and too sharp to not hurt.
But I have felt worse pain.

Those summer nights
when the burns on my hands were memories;
the rules Mama taught me with a smoking pan.

“Don’t talk back” printed on the right,
“Never leave” on the left.

I hold my arm to the sky,
watch the way dark flashes across my skin;
small squares that imitate the chain link fence.

Papa never gave it a second thought,
leaving his wife and daughter,
abandoning something real for a bored man’s desire.

Mama called her “That woman.”
I called her “The one he wanted more.”

The sun sinks to the wet ground,
and I listen to the first sounds of night;
Wait for the dark to cover everything.



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This article has 9 comments.


aim610 said...
on Oct. 26 2010 at 2:22 pm
aim610, Plaquemine, Louisiana
0 articles 0 photos 6 comments
This poem is so deep! It's almost like I'm there, and it's so realistic. You can actually picture yourself in that person's shoes and imagine your life as hers. It's so strong the way your poem is brought together. Keep it real. :)

on Oct. 26 2010 at 11:44 am
Tatyana DIAMOND, Colorado, Colorado
60 articles 0 photos 171 comments

this is very good

 


Crispy said...
on Oct. 26 2010 at 7:31 am
Crispy, Spotsylvania, Virginia
0 articles 0 photos 22 comments
Wow! Great poem. It was very sincere and I felt the sadness in your words. Good job.

fiestylove:) said...
on Oct. 25 2010 at 10:27 am
rarwww! 

on Oct. 25 2010 at 10:25 am
pumpkinsmasherdancer, Kalamazoo, Michigan
0 articles 0 photos 2 comments

u go, gurrlll!!!!!

wurk iiiiiittttt :))))))) 

*__-    <-- that's a winkkkk

 

i is so feisty!


on Oct. 25 2010 at 10:09 am
snowqueenx3 BRONZE, Aspen, Colorado
1 article 0 photos 1 comment
Whoa, this is amazing. You've got serious talent, keep posting!

on Oct. 24 2010 at 10:15 pm
Gabiiiii BRONZE, Independence, Oregon
4 articles 1 photo 21 comments

Favorite Quote:
"In a world where billions believe their deity conceived a mortal child with a virgin human, it's stunning how little imagination most people display." --Chuck Palahnuik

Absolutely beautiful. If this is true, i wish you luck in life, and i'm sorry you've felt that pain.
You have some talent there, though.

on Oct. 24 2010 at 6:30 pm
MelanieLouise PLATINUM, Plymouth, Minnesota
37 articles 0 photos 81 comments

Favorite Quote:
to live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong

i absolutely love this poem. it so raw and truthful. i especially love the first stanza :) awesome job. check out my work?

on Oct. 24 2010 at 5:10 pm
AMCLRIDCA PLATINUM, CDA, Idaho
31 articles 2 photos 226 comments

Favorite Quote:
Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take... but by the moments that take your breath away.

There is so much pain in this poem....Its a great poem, and i really felt the pain....