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

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The Part I Wanted

Jessica H., Kannapolis, NC

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By Aimee S., Mequon, WI

He painted a rose
velvety pink and sharp at the edges
on a sheet of card stock
only slightly bigger than his bony hands
Stiff and sort of inflexible,
like he was
Below the rose
he wrote a poem in black pen
- not real nighttime black
but doubtful black
a charcoal of unsure letters
scribbled over damp watercolor paints
Not enough courage to say those words
with his uncertain lips
In the depths of my basement
I found a rusty razorblade
Carefully,
deliberately,
I sliced the artwork
cut out the rose
I tossed the poem
the doubtful charcoal words
into the lapping flames of the fireplace
I watched
that stiff card
those hollow letters
Eaten by the desperate heat of the fire
I only kept the part I wanted.

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.