Delusions of Grandeur | Teen Ink
  1. Home
  2. Poetry
  3. Free Verse
  4. Delusions of Grandeur

Delusions of Grandeur

June 20, 2014
By ClaraJoy GOLD, Arlington, Virginia
More by this author
ClaraJoy GOLD, Arlington, Virginia
17 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Sometimes I freeze...until the light comes<br /> Sometimes I fly...into the night<br /> Sometimes I fight...against the darkness<br /> Sometimes I&#039;m wrong...sometimes I&#039;m right.&quot;<br /> -Geddy Lee sang it, Neil Peart wrote it.<br /> Freeze

View profile

I thought I was conversing with angels
But I was just talking to myself.
I thought I was telling a story of magic and power and trickery and love
But I was just stealing the work of others.
I thought I sang a song of great importance
But my voice was weak and my words rang false.
I thought I wrote of disaster and creation
But life and death eluded my reach.
I thought I stood strong against the forces of the night
But I merely cowered and held up my false prose as a shield.
I thought I was drowning
But I was only feeling the ocean spray on my face.
I wasn’t walking on water,
I was just standing on a reef.
I wasn’t working fearsome magic,
I was hiding in plain sight.
I thought I was dying.
I just lived.

© Helen H., San Antonio, TX

The author's comments:
This is a critique of the martyrdom fetish in literature. The final two lines imply that if I had lost the battle and died, I would have had a much greater impact and more importance than what I have as a living, breathing girl. It also has a sort of cynical message to it ("it can always be worse") and a humbling tone. It asks you not to get too hung up on yourself, and to realize that life alone is a miracle. You don't have to be Allen Ginsberg or Leo Tolstoy to appreciate that.
Post a comment
Submit your own

Similar Articles

Previous Next
Poetry
Connected
By emolover95 GOLD
Park City, Utah
emolover95 GOLD, Park City, Utah
13 articles 0 photos 25 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Don&#039;t cry because it&#039;s over. Smile because it happened.&quot;

View profile
Poetry
Motley Crue: I really hear you
By Arbys GOLD
Dobbs Ferry, New York
Arbys GOLD, Dobbs Ferry, New York
15 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
&quot;I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity.&quot;Edgar Allan Poe<br /> &quot;A dream doesn&#039;t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work. ~Colin Powell&quot; ~ Colin Powell<br /> &quot;Wisdom is not finally tested in the schools, Wisdom <br /> &quot;A poem is never finished, only abandoned.&quot;-Paul Valery

View profile
Poetry
Do It Now!
By Lost-In-Life GOLD
Whitby, Other
Lost-In-Life GOLD, Whitby, Other
11 articles 0 photos 299 comments

Favorite Quote:
It&#039;s never to late, if it weren&#039;t for the last minute many things would never get done!

View profile
Poetry
where did you go
By brittany curths SILVER
Hubbard, Oregon
brittany curths SILVER, Hubbard, Oregon
6 articles 0 photos 0 comments
View profile
Poetry
Secret Crush
By C.J.H. BRONZE
Benciao City, Taipei County, Other
C.J.H. BRONZE, Benciao City, Taipei County, Other
4 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Sometimes the world tries ot knock it out of you. But I believe in music the way that some people believe in fairy tales.&quot; August Rush(2007)

View profile
Poetry
The World of the Present
By Lost-In-Life GOLD
Whitby, Other
Lost-In-Life GOLD, Whitby, Other
11 articles 0 photos 299 comments

Favorite Quote:
It&#039;s never to late, if it weren&#039;t for the last minute many things would never get done!

View profile

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 0 comments.