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Chicken Soup for the Teen Soul Book - Real-Life Stories by Real Teens

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Mother

Bayta R., Beverly, MA

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By Cathy S., Danville, VA

Her deep earth eyes
whisper hues of maple bark and leaf,
while wrinkles of smile grace her face,
and make it soft and loving.
She wears multi-hued clothing which makes me giggle,
but gathers compliments from aging women
who glare at their own dull fashion,
secretly disgusted at their lack of imagination.
She is a statue, strong and steady, making
others shrink when she speaks,
because they know she is right
and they believe in her words.
She has always been behind me,
enduring cold, metal bleachers to urge me on,
even if I felt that I wasn’t good enough
to merit praise.
She has sat next to me, encouraged my intelligence
and made my art have meaning
with her approval.
She passed down to me her sense of justice,
and made me stronger.
Because of her, I never settle for less
than I deserve.
We have had wars and tears,
battles and scars,
but they have healed.
And she will always be
the soul within me,
my mother.

This piece has also been published in Teen Ink's monthly magazine.

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Teen Ink is a national teen magazine, book and website featuring teen writing, information, art, photos, poetry, teen issues and more. All articles are written by teen authors who are students at schools. The monthly print magazine is appropriate for any teenager -- teenagers age 13 to 19 attending secondary school: junior high school, middle school and high school. This publication is used by professional people including English teachers, writing teachers, language arts instructors, journalism teachers, school newspaper advisors, librarians, guidance counselors, K-12 principals in addition to the PTA or PTO. Each issue of Teen Ink magazine contains a wide variety of student work: we publish nonfiction, fiction, poems, community service, sports, heroes, interviews, college essays, college reviews, book reviews, concert reviews, movie reviews, music reviews, video reviews, video game reviews, the environment, opinion, sports, pets, cars, automobiles, travel and culture, jobs and money, health issues, artwork, photographs, cartoons, short stories, essays, writing contests, a college directory and the website also has a bulletin board and resources for teens and educators. Subjects include racism, eating disorders, depression, death, suicide, family, relationships, jobs, grandparents, violence, the college process, college information, colleges, driving, self esteem, the arts, movies and more. Teen Ink is also a book series published by HCI Teens. Subjects covered in the book include Friends, Fitting In, Love, Challenges, Family, Heroes, Loss and Memories. Teen Ink was established in 1989 as The 21st Century magazine by The Young Authors Foundation, a nonprofit organization. More than 25,000 teens have been published in the magazine and its companion Poetry Journal. Teen Ink runs a London Summer Program for teenage writers.