Pledge | Teen Ink

Pledge MAG

November 23, 2008
By sarah.s SILVER, Attleboro, Massachusetts
sarah.s SILVER, Attleboro, Massachusetts
8 articles 0 photos 24 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Being happy doesn't mean everything is perfect; it means you're capable of looking beyond the imperfections." --Anonymous


From this point forward
I will not stand
to be unhappy
any longer.
I will not stand
to be broken down,
broken apart,
broken-hearted.
From this point forward
my success does not depend
on my waistline
and my strength does not depend
on my weakness.
My biggest fear is not
the nutrition label.
From this point forward
I will not worry those
who love me.
I will not look at those
with hip bones
and rib cages
and be jealous.
I will not be afraid
to eat the birthday cake
you made me.
I will not measure
every morsel as if
any more would make
it poison.
From this point forward
food is not my enemy
and Ana is not my friend.
Size zero is not beautiful
and 90 pounds is not ideal.
I am no longer
enslaved by my scale
and it is not an awful day
when I weigh enough
to donate blood.
From this point forward
the only things coming
out of my mouth will be
words.
I will no longer be called
Disgraceful,
Disgusting,
Distasteful.
From this point forward
I am
Inspired,
Indestructable,
Independent.



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This article has 518 comments.


on Feb. 7 2010 at 11:32 am
FondduLac BRONZE, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
2 articles 0 photos 7 comments

Favorite Quote:
"If you love somebody, let them go, for if they return, they were always yours. And if they don\\\'t, they never were." -- Khalil Gibran

Poetry should be grounded in the concrete and you successfully did that but I feel like you give to much away. You shouldn't just state how you feel, that's another thing that should be concrete (through metaphor, personification). This poem would be better as a memoir.

on Feb. 7 2010 at 8:59 am
VioletsandVoice, Spiritwood, North Dakota
0 articles 0 photos 170 comments
i liked it very much

Emiline SILVER said...
on Feb. 1 2010 at 4:27 pm
Emiline SILVER, Nashville, Tennessee
9 articles 0 photos 33 comments

Favorite Quote:
"When deep injury is done to us, we will never recover until we forgive. Forgiveness cannot change the past. But it does enlarge the future."- Mary Karen Read

I love your poem so much. It's really deep inspiring. :) Thanks for sharing.

sarah.s SILVER said...
on Jan. 19 2010 at 11:01 am
sarah.s SILVER, Attleboro, Massachusetts
8 articles 0 photos 24 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Being happy doesn't mean everything is perfect; it means you're capable of looking beyond the imperfections." --Anonymous

Will do, for you are clearly the all-knowing god of poetry! I bow before thee and quiver at your royal feet! ;)

Moetry BRONZE said...
on Jan. 17 2010 at 6:01 pm
Moetry BRONZE, Eagan, Minnesota
1 article 0 photos 5 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?"
- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Fair enough. You are more than entitled to your opinion, but I would suggest that you do your own research on the definitions of poetry, slam poetry, and free verse and compare them for yourself, since your arguments seem to be lacking depth. For, an opinion that ignores the facts lacks fair judgment and is therefore ignorant.

sarah.s SILVER said...
on Jan. 17 2010 at 4:10 pm
sarah.s SILVER, Attleboro, Massachusetts
8 articles 0 photos 24 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Being happy doesn't mean everything is perfect; it means you're capable of looking beyond the imperfections." --Anonymous

I'll still have to respectfully disagree with you, but as I said before, thanks for the feedback!

Moetry BRONZE said...
on Jan. 17 2010 at 3:38 am
Moetry BRONZE, Eagan, Minnesota
1 article 0 photos 5 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?"
- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Yes, but even free verse isn't without any structure; as T. S. Eliot pointed out, "no verse is free for the man [/woman] who wants to do a good job." Even the great poet Robert Frost remarked that the writing of free verse was like playing tennis w/o a net. See, free verse is used to classify poems that simply don't fit under the other main, and strictly formatted, categories of poetry, but free verse must still follow the basic rules of poetry, otherwise it is, as I said before, just prose. As far as slam poetry goes, it is a poor bastardization of poetry that is more closely related to rap battles and soap-boxing than to a poetic performance, and it has only gained popularity due its edginess and avant garde nature.

on Jan. 16 2010 at 11:25 pm
loveibanez BRONZE, Maumee, Ohio
4 articles 1 photo 63 comments

Favorite Quote:
"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on!" -Ben Franklin

Simply beautiful and inspiring, way to go. Keep it up

sarah.s SILVER said...
on Jan. 16 2010 at 10:39 pm
sarah.s SILVER, Attleboro, Massachusetts
8 articles 0 photos 24 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Being happy doesn't mean everything is perfect; it means you're capable of looking beyond the imperfections." --Anonymous

Oops, this was supposed to be a reply to dancingdaisies.

sarah.s SILVER said...
on Jan. 16 2010 at 10:38 pm
sarah.s SILVER, Attleboro, Massachusetts
8 articles 0 photos 24 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Being happy doesn't mean everything is perfect; it means you're capable of looking beyond the imperfections." --Anonymous

I understand how you feel. I, too, felt like being called anorexic was a compliment... but trust me, it isn't. Your family and friends are probably very scared for you... you should really get some help! Best of luck.

on Jan. 16 2010 at 10:30 pm
softlylara BRONZE, Staten Island, New York
4 articles 2 photos 15 comments
This poem is truly remarkable. In a society so obsessed with being skinny a majority of teens are "haunted by their scales".

This poem stands for self confidence and acceptance of who you are and what you look like.

Absolutely love it !

on Jan. 16 2010 at 9:24 pm
dancingdaisies GOLD, Westborough, Massachusetts
19 articles 24 photos 38 comments

Favorite Quote:
" you can't get what you want until you know what you want"-Joe Jackson
"Dancing is like dreaming with your feet!"-Contanze
"Why are you talking about all of these thing you're getting & nothing about what you already have?"~MMEE!!:)

I weigh 90 pounds, but my body's disproportional. I have thunder thighs, stick ankels, chuby cheeks, my collar bone sticks out, a stomach that juts out like a penninsula , and the list goes on & on. but, shamefully, being called annorexic is a comliment. it happens all the time.

on Jan. 16 2010 at 7:37 pm
Pantophobia SILVER, Stoutsville, Ohio
8 articles 6 photos 3 comments
it is wonderful and beautiful

on Jan. 16 2010 at 5:51 pm
wombatz-rule GOLD, Montrose, Minnesota
15 articles 0 photos 53 comments
This is beautiful. Every single day of my life since seventh grade, I have struggled with how I feel about myself and my body. To realize that someone has made it through the other side...that has given me strength. I am going to copy this poem down and post it somewhere so that I will be able to see it everyday and find strength. This is beautiful.

sarah.s SILVER said...
on Jan. 16 2010 at 5:18 pm
sarah.s SILVER, Attleboro, Massachusetts
8 articles 0 photos 24 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Being happy doesn't mean everything is perfect; it means you're capable of looking beyond the imperfections." --Anonymous

I'm sorry to have offended you!

I agree that beauty comes in all sizes; I know many beautiful young women who, like yourself, are naturally thin.

I did not mean to say that thin is ugly; I meant that in MY case, size zero is NOT beautiful, because it is not what I naturally am.

sarah.s SILVER said...
on Jan. 16 2010 at 5:15 pm
sarah.s SILVER, Attleboro, Massachusetts
8 articles 0 photos 24 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Being happy doesn't mean everything is perfect; it means you're capable of looking beyond the imperfections." --Anonymous

Thanks for the feedback, but I'll have to disagree with you! Not all poetry follows strict format, thus rendering it "open" or "free verse."

This is actually a short slam poetry piece. I don't know if you're familiar with slam poetry (performance poetry), but there are many different styles that conform/do not conform to specific formats.

Perhaps if you heard my poem performed aloud, you'd change your mind!

on Jan. 16 2010 at 5:07 pm
hamsa_prophet SILVER, Los Angeles, California
9 articles 0 photos 6 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"this is your warning / this
your birthright / do not let
this universe regret you."
- Marty McConnell

Well, I was going to give a bunch of feedback on how beautiful and powerful you piece was, but it looks like about a dozen and a half people beat me to the punch. So, let me just say: bravo :)

on Jan. 16 2010 at 4:08 pm
AndThisIsReal PLATINUM, Broadalbin, New York
31 articles 0 photos 81 comments

Favorite Quote:
Dans chaque fil il y a un debut.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!You know what!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-I wish that you wouldn't say size zero is not beautiful, because I am naturally petite and am indeed a size zero with a very fast metabolism, and yes I am beautiful and I don't feel bad about admitting it...I too like myself the way I am!

-I agree a forced size zero however is not beautiful and a size zero is not the only form beauty comes in.

-That said...I think this is a well written and extremely inspiring piece of writing.

cgm093 BRONZE said...
on Jan. 16 2010 at 4:02 pm
cgm093 BRONZE, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
3 articles 0 photos 5 comments
this is really great. everything about this poem tells how strong you are.

on Jan. 16 2010 at 3:53 pm
mockingbirdsong GOLD, Russellville, Alabama
15 articles 0 photos 30 comments

Favorite Quote:
No judging, just loving.

Yes,this is good.Throw all that guilt behind you,move on and live your life.Instead of being caught up in all the stuff that brings you down.Like you wrote,encouraging others and yourself not to mind those words and things that cut you down,But to look at your self as a beautiful person and to love yourself no matter what people say, or what scales tell you,or the nutrition lable, but like you said, to eat and enjoy your birthday cake without having any regret about it!!!!!! It's a very encouraging poem.Keep up the great writing!!!!!!!!!!!!