Prove You're Alive | Teen Ink

Prove You're Alive

February 9, 2014
By Trace.C.Schuelke PLATINUM, Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Trace.C.Schuelke PLATINUM, Oshkosh, Wisconsin
26 articles 0 photos 22 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Secrets are secrets for a reason, and some do not wish to see them uncovered. Especially when the secrets are particularly unseemly..."


Your world is dying around you.
Seconds never stand still and wait,
They only fade.
And yours are melting with every breath.
Each step you take is broken by time not just lost,
But wasted in vain and ignorant pastimes.
There is a world of wonder and intrigue
That you will never find in an iPhone case,
Or on a computer monitor.
A place where feelings transcend the skin,
And emotions bust the barriers of realty and fantasy.
A realm that you won't see on a TV screen.

But unlike a dreamland,
This place exists outside of your head.
And it's all around you, shrieking to be discovered.
Praying you'll wake up from your technological coma
And breathe in the elegance of the world.

But you won't.

You're too busy dying in cyberspace,
Cultivating relationships with machines,
And plugging into a lifeless, artificial world.
You can't breathe without tasting the fake, metallic air,
Polluting natural beauty with exhales of industry.
Robotic toxicity carves a path to mechanized demise,
And what do you do?

You accept it,
And reject reality in favor of the fervor of technology.
You push the plugs into your skull,
Tuning out the world around so you can go on Facebook,
Or Twitter, or whatever other soul-sucking site
Has enraptured the populous.
Media like that puts the cult into culture.
And it's sickening,
And saddening to see that so many have fallen victim
Before a regime governed by machines.
So you know what?

Get out.

Tear the cables connecting your head to your computer away,
And burst through your locked door into the sunshine.
Drown in the endlessness of connatural life,
And suck the pulp from nature's fruits.
Lose your mind, go insane,
Do whatever it takes to revitalize your humanity.
Stare into the stars.
Dance with your shadow.
Breathe in the clouds.
Drink the trees.
Scream at the sky.
Feel the world from the inside.

You've been autonomously comatose for a long time now,
And the world won't wait for you to wake up.
So tonight, you're gonna make a choice.
You either die in the arms of a machine,
Or you open your eyes, and prove that you're alive.



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This article has 6 comments.


on Sep. 21 2014 at 2:30 pm
EmilytheBelleofA. DIAMOND, Athens, Georgia
81 articles 5 photos 1486 comments

Favorite Quote:
To love is to be vulnerable; Triumph is born out of struggle; We notice shadows most when they stand alone in the midst of overwhelming light.

Technology can have its downs and ups. I wish people would this more often, and just see. I wish people could see and just prove that they're alive, not just merely existing. We're humans, after all. I love this, a lot. It's amazing. You really do have a talent. Your poem is absolutely, powerful and wonderful and amazing. Thank you, thank you for sharing this. 

on Aug. 22 2014 at 10:47 am
Castiels.Freaking.Trenchcoat SILVER, Columbiana, Ohio
9 articles 7 photos 66 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Family don't end with blood, boy." ~Bobby (Supernatural)

Not good, my butt! Sheesh, this is awesome, Trace! Great job. X3

on Aug. 21 2014 at 12:52 pm
TheComet PLATINUM, Mostaganem, Other
22 articles 1 photo 439 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret" -Ambrose Bierce
" Be yourself! Everybody else is already taken ;)"
"Don't go where the path leads you. Go instead where there's no path and leave a trail ;)"-R.W.Emerson

This is so true and POWERFUL. I truly deeply and completely agree with you. With everyday that passes by, we just keep going blind and careless about the beauty of the world. It's such a shame cuz this beauty is fading away with every technological invention. And we're doing nothing about it. So your poem is like or not like, it is a good WAKE UP CALL. I just love it how you talked so easily and let out your feelings. You have the talent to create some kind of pistures with your words. That way you make so clear and easy to dive into your work and feel everything. So Keep it up and thank you so very much for the inspiration ^_^

on Jun. 29 2014 at 8:04 pm
TravelerenRoute GOLD, Ribera, New Mexico
13 articles 1 photo 65 comments

Favorite Quote:
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.
It is not just in some; it is in everyone.

And, as we let our own light shine, we consciously give
other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our fear,
our presence automatically liberates others."
Marianne Williamson

This is very good and pretty true. But technology is always a villain. It has many great purposes. After all, you did use it to write this poem.

on Feb. 20 2014 at 7:34 pm
MattMattHatter PLATINUM, Bellevue, Washington
33 articles 0 photos 83 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Poetry is thoughts that breathe, and words that burn. "
Thomas Gray

Amazing. I love the realistic aspect, very true. Well done.

on Feb. 17 2014 at 6:12 pm
Mishamigo DIAMOND, Newton, Kansas
54 articles 28 photos 24 comments

Favorite Quote:
We accept the love we think we deserve.

Wow, this is REALLY good!