Teen Talk

July/August 2002

Unexpected Crush
by Raquel Gonzalez

Gentle compassion in my ears
Convincing me to pay more attention
Business turning into nervous calls about nothing really
Cloudy eyes and lips that begged to be kissed
Drawing me in
Ignoring my duties for a few seconds with you
Going out of my way to casually brush your arm as I walk by
Your welcoming smile enticing me to take a chance
My bold confession leading to anxious uncertainty
Yellow instrumental turtle near my heart
reminding me of the suddenness of it all
Making me eager to know more about what’s behind
those mysterious eyes
distance prevailing and limiting my hope
But sleep comes hard
when you’re haunting my thoughts
And the possibility of “us” consumes me
Are you REALLY interested?
I wonder how this happened.
Randomly, instantly deciding you’re my
Unexpected crush.

Fragmented dramas
Dreams shattered
High School fantasies
A world supposedly whole
Yet broken like
the Picasso
I stare at
A picture with a name
A name showing nothing of the picture displayed
Like my life
It is fragmented
Splintered like my mind
Depression is the title they give me
A title that, like the Picasso,
tells nothing about me
Life, reality,
All these terms are worthless
For they give the illusion of peace
Life, reality
Shattered like me
Hoping to come together one day

--Jennifer R. Confalone

Fix What You’ve Broken
by Kelly Stites

I feel like a day of plans ruined by rain,
Like a harp with yarn for strings,
Like a bird without a voice,
Like an opera who knew no Italian,
Like a writer with no ink,
Like a historian with a memory loss,
Like a teacher who couldn’t test,
Like a colorblind artist,
Like a kitten who couldn’t purr,
Like a tired old man who couldn’t sleep,
Like a picture with no one in it,
Like an award whom no one appreciates,
Like a kid’s beloved teddybear thrown in the trash,
Like a sticker that no longer sticks,
Like a scrambled television,
Like a mailbox who never gets mail,
Like a lamp that only turns on when it wants to,
Like a tree that never grows leaves,
Like snow that melts as soon as it hits earth,
Like the “not so tasty” dish at an all you can eat buffet,
Like a little girl with no dolls to play with,
Like the hugest fan without a ticket,
Like a favorite shirt that was outgrown,
Like a giraffe with a petite neck,
Like the beautiful flower that was stepped on,
Like a heart that knew no happiness,
Like a girl who lost everything, since she lost her best friend.

Far Horizons

by Evelyn Duffy

The words fall from my pen
While silence drips within my head
I hear nothing but the relentless
Forward march of far-off fortune.
I know not where I’ll roam,
I know not where to find a home,
I know not what to do
But go on breathing.
A sounding beat resounds within my homeless mind,
I wake at night to find
A full moon staring down, and I know not why
I stand so still, remaining.
A force within me burns,
A longing to adjourn
To the shrouded, unknown lands
I, waking, dream of.

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