Get Our
Print Magazine

48 pages of creative bliss. Written by teens for teens since 1989.
Subscribe!
See us on Facebook,
MySpace & Twitter
   
Home > All Poetry > What I Could Never Tell My Mother

What I Could Never Tell My Mother This piece has been published in Teen Ink's monthly print magazine.

Rate this article:
By Margaret W., Reston, VA
Photo credit: Leah C., Grand Island, NE
What I could never tell my mother
Isn’t her fault; it’s mine
It’s things wrapped inside of me, coiled like wire with the filament exposed
She could accept them – those things – I’m sure
Maybe even love them the way she loves me; little puzzle pieces
That fell out of the box when we were putting it under the sofa
After we almost finished the puzzle together
But I hide them inside my deepest aorta
Keeping them safe because who wants to grab a still-beating heart?
It would kill me to take those secrets out
So my mother may know they exist
But she lets me keep them.
And maybe that’s the real secret, the one that
Shhhh
She doesn’t know –
It’s that I need some secrets of my own.
This piece has been published in Teen Ink's monthly print magazine.This piece has also been published in Teen Ink's monthly print magazine.

Join the Discussion


This article has 106 comments. Post your own!

EleanorRigbysGospelofPeace said...
Nov. 8 at 4:48 pm:

Wow. This is simply beautiful. It is incredibly descriptive and unique. Your writing definitely has its own voice, and I love it. Continue with the great work. You're destined for something great!

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
Avalynn said...
Oct. 30 at 10:21 pm:

Wow, this is so amazing! It's unique and reflective- i love it!

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
Britt<3 said...
Oct. 30 at 6:11 pm:

This is such a great poem. Everyone can totally relate. Keep it up your awesome!

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
yoyoyo... said...
Oct. 30 at 1:07 pm:

Omg i luv ur piece!
i can really relate to it and it is very discribing and interesting it makes me want to keep reading

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
Kitten111 said...
Oct. 30 at 12:34 am:

this hit me ... i have lot of things i should tell my mum but i dont ..... mostly because its the way she treats me ... youve given me a idea though thanxs and keep up the awesome work

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
kaeny said...
Oct. 29 at 9:41 pm:

This is beautiful, thank you.

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
Nicky_1 said...
Oct. 8 at 9:32 am:

I really like this poem.It speaks true life in everyy verse.Keep them coming!!

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
stephaniekip said...
Sep. 16 at 8:55 pm:

awesome poem ! Keep up the great work!

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
Sara B. said...
Aug. 24 at 1:58 pm:

Hahah, amazing, i loved it. Kepp writinggg :D

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
amrwrites said...
Aug. 17 at 8:00 pm:

I would repeat what everyone said, but you probably already know how talented you are. But anyways, you're very talented. Haha. :)

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
Shante G. said...
Aug. 2 at 10:17 pm:

really good :)

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
Jessica P. said...
Jul. 1 at 7:49 pm:

I love it. =)

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
despurlock said...
Jun. 22 at 6:50 pm:

Wow, this is beautiful. You never come outright and say what the secret is and you leave the reader begging in thougt's trance. I love it! Please check out some of my poems and let me know what you think! Thanks! And again, your poem is phenomenal!

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
marinelareka.com said...
Jun. 19 at 6:17 am:

Nicely written, I enjoyed reading it :)

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
tigeress3 said...
Jun. 3 at 10:02 pm:

I can totally relate to this! Beautiful!

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
Live+Laugh+love said...
Jun. 1 at 1:24 pm:

many people can relate, you give your readers what they want...nice :D
like to hear more

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
musiclover71 said...
May 31 at 3:51 am:

i love it. this is.. so amazing i mean genius

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
sweetbaby_11213@yahoo.com said...
May 21 at 1:31 am:

i understand u i had the same problem its hard to tell my mother things because i feel as though the things that i may do is my secrets cause i feel as though no one is living my life but me

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
BeccaBlue826 said...
May 9 at 4:34 pm:

um...wow...im still kind of stunned...that was great...i felt the bam on the last line and on the first four...it was great...

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
Sara B. said...
May 7 at 5:39 am:

i absolutley love the heart metaphores! i get where you are coming from, there are soo many things i could never tell my mom

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
cocoa.cars said...
May 4 at 7:53 pm:

my gosh i know exactly how you feel, i love the symbolism of puzzle pieces in it, i use that a lot too.

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
Akaeda said...
May 4 at 5:08 pm:

I totally understand where you're coming from with this. Come check out my work sometime!

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
123 demi said...
Apr. 30 at 8:48 pm:

I love this poem its kinda like me i got a lot of secrets i cant tell my mother and i need to keep to my self it goes perfect with a lot of people i love it good job on writing this

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
Terry S. said...
Apr. 30 at 3:29 pm:

yea its a pretty good poem has alot of understanding behind it nice work

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
joesmit said...
Apr. 29 at 5:00 pm:

teen poetry is so ridiculous.

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
chelchelbear said...
Apr. 29 at 4:45 pm:

This is a really nice poem... very true...and... real, you know! i like it... do it! j/k j/k .... but seriously nice poem... lotes

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
Monica T. said...
Apr. 29 at 1:59 am:

it was a good poem!! i hope to read more of your work!! :)

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
rainbows-after-rain said...
Apr. 28 at 8:12 pm:

Beautiful! :)

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
Evynn A. said...
Apr. 28 at 6:54 pm:

That is an excellent poem. I feel the same way about my mother.

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
The Punished said...
Apr. 28 at 1:24 pm:

This makes me feel the pain i keep inside, and remember all of my dark secrets that hide deep in my soul.

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
Tinkham3 said...
Apr. 28 at 12:20 am:

I love this poem...But you don't have to even think about want I say but maybe you should not go from talking about secrets than a puzzle than secrets again But I do like the way you were able to tie it all in

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
sunnybaby said...
May 6 at 7:51 pm:

this is really good when i read it i saw me cuz i dont tell my mom alot of secrets and its good cuz u dont always have to be open bout every thing so good job and good luck on writing u shuld check out mine.

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
Martha H. said...
Apr. 24 at 12:57 am:

this is such a great poem and it describes exactly how i feel

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
music said...
Apr. 23 at 7:50 pm:

this is awesome so true i love it kinda sounds like me

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
blackamethyst said...
Apr. 22 at 9:09 pm:

very cool. i dont think a lot of teenagers share everything with their parents and you've summarized it nicely

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
GurlGutta said...
Apr. 22 at 6:42 pm:

I really like this poem because I can really feel the emotions and thoughts you put into this peice

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
Priscilla C. said...
Apr. 18 at 7:07 pm:

Beautiful. I like the part about the "still-beating heart".

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
sissykat said...
Apr. 18 at 6:52 pm:

I know exactly how you feel about in the poem. I think it was really well written. You should continue to write.

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
Chelsea C. said...
Apr. 18 at 2:46 pm:

i can completly relate! there are so many things that i just can't seem to tell my parents either...good job! =)

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
Mikal said...
Apr. 18 at 6:48 am:

Check out my poems

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
AndThisIsReal said...
Apr. 14 at 8:50 pm:

This was just great.

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
tbbf09 said...
Apr. 14 at 12:56 pm:

this is such an awesome poem i wrote one kinda like it and i will post it on here and try to get it published by teenink soon ,but mine is called she never knew and it's much more deeper than this one and has some adult content too. i write all the time and have 2 poems published on this sight but i accidently put them down as anonomouse writer they are called my prison poem and always and forever..i hope you check them out...

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
mary G. said...
Apr. 11 at 1:13 am:

This is so amazing!
You are such the writer!
I love how all the other comments say they can relate.
well, it is very relative-is that a word?
:)

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
LilJ<3 said...
Apr. 10 at 11:11 pm:

Margaret, you got quiet a response on the poem! I can see why... its great. Its so true that there are some things we want to keep to ourselves that we dont want other to people to know about...Not having anyone know is what makes it special or unique cause only you know it...I think you did a great job and congrats on getting it published in the mag!
♥ Jackie

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
joshua S. said...
Apr. 9 at 1:00 am:

thats kinda koool.... too dramatic like

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
lovely129713 said...
Apr. 8 at 11:43 pm:

Nice poem. I think we can all relate to it. Everyone has sectrets that they don't want to tell anyone...especially their parents. I do.

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
CheerGirl94 said...
Apr. 7 at 2:52 pm:

This is Amazing i can totally relate!!!! :)

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
mrbananaman9 said...
Apr. 7 at 1:40 am:

I can totally relate

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
CutiePie said...
Apr. 5 at 6:33 pm:

this is so good. i can really relate because i have big secrets of my own

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment
 
angeleyes1995 said...
Apr. 5 at 5:22 am:

I can relate ur peom is beautiful please look at mines and comment tell me how u feel. Thanks
~angel eyes

 
Reply to this comment Post a new comment