Was It Worth It? | Teen Ink

Was It Worth It?

June 20, 2011
By WishfulDoer GOLD, Portland, Oregon
WishfulDoer GOLD, Portland, Oregon
14 articles 0 photos 69 comments

Favorite Quote:
If ignorance is bliss, why is our country so complicated?


Our country was built on our thirst for freedom,
Built on the spilt blood of those who fought for us,
A battle unfairly fought and but rightly won,
Cries of victory drifting on the free flowing breeze,
The land of the free vivid and fresh

We are no longer vivid, nor are we fresh,
Blood is still spilt, but for what cause?
Is it for freedom or greed?
Are the lives lost worth losing?
Do the families in pain deserve the heartache?

I look around and what I see ties knots in my heart,
A gas station on one corner,
A strip club on the next,
A sunken-faced man with his emaciated dog,
Watching a woman devour a Big Mac

Profanity flies out the window of a car,
Neighbors flip each other the bird,
People get killed in drunken bar fights,
Glaring and staring are one and the same,
Hostility is the new hospitality

Police and ambulance sirens are the next Beethoven’s 9th,
The knock on a soon-to-be widow’s door is all too recognizable,
Funeral parades and obituaries clog the newspapers,
A gun in a household is like a flower in a vase,
Murder is a conversational piece

The flag waves soullessly,
Time stands still,
Land of the free,
Home of the brave,
A life lived in fear

Was it worth it?


The author's comments:
I was walking down the street and saw an old man with his dog sitting against the side of the building, a cup in his hand but his hand laying limp. He had lost his hope. Is that what our nation has come to? Where the lost and alone give up on hope? I was under the impression our nation was built up from the hope of newcomers to start over. I suppose I was wrong.

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This article has 8 comments.


Rayne GOLD said...
on Aug. 29 2011 at 2:01 pm
Rayne GOLD, Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin
17 articles 0 photos 46 comments
Its really good! but I liked the version in the forum better.

on Jul. 27 2011 at 1:19 pm
emanmkhan SILVER, Austin, Texas
7 articles 0 photos 74 comments

Favorite Quote:
\"People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel.\" Maya Angelou

This is beautiful! In the first stanza though, I noticed you wrote "and but" so I just think you should fix that. Otherwise, I love how you make me ponder after I finished reading the poem. The poetry and the words were in sync so it flowed perfectly together. AWESOME WORK!!!! I am definetely rating this five stars.

on Jul. 25 2011 at 12:00 am
NinjaGirl BRONZE, Valley City, North Dakota
1 article 0 photos 202 comments

Favorite Quote:
The only thing holding us back in life is our desire to stay where we are and not venture further.<br /> ~Some random person on the Internet :P

Wow, this is brimming with emotion and very well written! Great descriptions and flow. Very, very nice job on this!!

Shayna121 GOLD said...
on Jul. 20 2011 at 3:37 pm
Shayna121 GOLD, Port Charlotte, Florida
12 articles 0 photos 35 comments

Favorite Quote:
I am the master of my fate and the captain of my soul.

"And but" was the only mistake I saw and I loved this piece and the way it talks about straying from what we were and looking at what we've become...

on Jul. 18 2011 at 1:35 pm
Internal-Love PLATINUM, Queens, New York
33 articles 3 photos 310 comments

Favorite Quote:
Nothing&#039;s black or white, its all just a shade of gray---<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> TI &quot;Live your Life&quot; ft Rihanna

i wasnt feeling the poeticness of this poem........it felt more like a "what matters" piece then poetry........but this isnt saying that this piece is bad.....because it is very well written. Most people dont stop and think about how the meaning of America changed over time, into something dissapointing. 

This piece brings out a lot of valid points; great job


on Jul. 8 2011 at 2:51 pm
dolphin13 BRONZE, North St. Paul, Minnesota
1 article 0 photos 125 comments
Nice Poem! I have thought similar to this. I love the part about the gun being like a flower in a vase. Keep on writing!

on Jul. 8 2011 at 10:40 am
WishfulDoer GOLD, Portland, Oregon
14 articles 0 photos 69 comments

Favorite Quote:
If ignorance is bliss, why is our country so complicated?

Thank you! And I know, that mistake haunts me every time I look at my poem, hahaha. 

on Jul. 8 2011 at 7:20 am
Zinaidia SILVER, Moreno Valley, California
8 articles 3 photos 78 comments

Favorite Quote:
\\\&quot;Whatever you are, be a good one.\\\&quot;

This is just brilliant. I loved your"Hostility is the new hospitality" My only suggestion is that in the first stanza you but "and but" when it should just be "but" otherwise, GREAT JOB!