The Ghost | Teen Ink

The Ghost

December 30, 2013
By Alycia. BRONZE, Lower Gwynedd, Pennsylvania
Alycia. BRONZE, Lower Gwynedd, Pennsylvania
4 articles 8 photos 41 comments

Favorite Quote:
“Our lives are not our own. We are bound to others, past and present, and by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future.” -- David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas


She lingers
in the corner,
waiting,
to be spoken to
to be laughed with
to be loved.

But she knows,
they will never let her in
never speak to her
never laugh with her
never love her.

Stripped of
her courage
her dignity
her pride,
she roams
aimlessly,
wanders
sullenly.

A stray dog,
an abandoned orphan,
a lonely beggar,
a torn soul
all too long.

For she is the ghost
amongst the devils
of men.


The author's comments:
I finished reading Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger and the theme of isolation had been on my mind.

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This article has 22 comments.


on Mar. 22 2014 at 2:25 pm
SaphiraBrightscales DIAMOND, Islamabad, Other
75 articles 16 photos 1136 comments

Favorite Quote:
I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
- Maya Angelou
When i was little/I used to point a chubby finger toward the dark sky/And ask my father/why some stars moved and others didn’t/He would laugh and explain that some were airplanes/I still wish on them today ~ Laugh-It-Out
The feathers of a crow are black/The ink of my pen is blacker/The pain of my heart is blackest~ Mckay
If love produced a blossom/I’d take it in my palm/What a blessing, the bright color!/How soothing, such a balm!/I’d keep a petal for my own/The rest, drop from my hands/For such a flower would multiply/And populate the lands~ thesilentraven
And I began to rival legends/Long entombed before my birth./But for all my much envied fame/The lust for more would not abate./The plaques and prizes with my name/Will, like all things, disintegrate. ~ TheEpic95 now known as Helena_Noel

so yea "unleashed" and "held in" basically the same thing :P just added for emphasis. Gosh I mess up so many sentences nowadays. Apologies.

on Mar. 22 2014 at 2:24 pm
SaphiraBrightscales DIAMOND, Islamabad, Other
75 articles 16 photos 1136 comments

Favorite Quote:
I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
- Maya Angelou
When i was little/I used to point a chubby finger toward the dark sky/And ask my father/why some stars moved and others didn’t/He would laugh and explain that some were airplanes/I still wish on them today ~ Laugh-It-Out
The feathers of a crow are black/The ink of my pen is blacker/The pain of my heart is blackest~ Mckay
If love produced a blossom/I’d take it in my palm/What a blessing, the bright color!/How soothing, such a balm!/I’d keep a petal for my own/The rest, drop from my hands/For such a flower would multiply/And populate the lands~ thesilentraven
And I began to rival legends/Long entombed before my birth./But for all my much envied fame/The lust for more would not abate./The plaques and prizes with my name/Will, like all things, disintegrate. ~ TheEpic95 now known as Helena_Noel

Firstly I must apologize on my lateness for I believe you had requested me to read this poem a while back only I had not read your reply on my forum thread. Hence sorry. Anywho. This poem I felt had much unleashed emotion yet held in. And that you could have made it even better BUT even like this it left an imprint on my mind. Especially with your last three lines "for she is the ghost amongst the devils of men" Just fantastic. You left just enough room for speculation and that was the best part. The simplicity is good too. Oh and NOW I REALLY must read Catcher in the Rye. Post more!

on Feb. 7 2014 at 5:41 pm
lostloveXalexisX GOLD, Neosho, Missouri
16 articles 8 photos 20 comments
i love this it sounds dark yet like shes wanting to be noticed

on Feb. 5 2014 at 4:11 pm
ninjaballerina1234, Eureka, Missouri
0 articles 0 photos 23 comments

Favorite Quote:
everything is always ok in the end if everything is not ok its not the end

Fantastic! I wish I could write poetry like this. Your words had really good flow and impact and that last line made your poem stand out.

on Feb. 3 2014 at 2:34 pm
GuardianoftheStars GOLD, Shongaloo, Louisiana
17 articles 0 photos 495 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Let's tell young people the best books are yet to be written; the best painting, the best government, the best of everything is yet to be done by them."
-John Erslcine

Very well written,  You are a talented writer.

on Feb. 3 2014 at 12:46 pm
buttercup102903 BRONZE, Bellevue, Ohio
2 articles 0 photos 13 comments
again really good.

on Jan. 31 2014 at 10:47 pm
SlowEternity BRONZE, Big Lake, Minnesota
4 articles 15 photos 79 comments

Favorite Quote:
Love is like a wildfire; It knows no boundaries.- Em

I feel as though I can easily relate. Awesome job. I love it!

Hanban12 ELITE said...
on Jan. 31 2014 at 10:23 pm
Hanban12 ELITE, Lake Worth, Florida
133 articles 7 photos 631 comments

Favorite Quote:
"If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them."
Henry David Thoreau

"I fell in love the way you fall asleep; slowly, and then all at once."
John Green

Gorgeous set-up; I love the imagery and the last line is wonderful: "For she is the ghost amongst the devils of men." This is a beautiful piece, and very relatable. Well done! :)

on Jan. 31 2014 at 5:09 pm
RoyalCorona SILVER, Grand Rapids, Michigan
7 articles 0 photos 290 comments

Favorite Quote:
All of us fave failed to match our dream of perfection. I rate us on the basis of our splendid failure to do the impossible. -William Faulkner

Wow! I loved this and you should really keep writing more free verse! Great job!

HudaZav SILVER said...
on Jan. 30 2014 at 5:29 pm
HudaZav SILVER, Toronto, Other
8 articles 6 photos 390 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Nothing is impossible; the word itself says 'I'm possible'!" -Audrey Hepburn

Hauntingly beautiful and creative. i loved it !

on Jan. 30 2014 at 1:20 pm
theblondechick GOLD, Kingsport, Tennessee
14 articles 0 photos 104 comments

Favorite Quote:
I want to live and feel all the shades, tones, and variations of mental and physical experience possible in life.
And I am horribly limited.
-Sylvia Path

This is creeply amazing. I love the imagery and the word choice. My favorite part was the last two stanzas. Good job 

on Jan. 28 2014 at 6:34 pm
Carly_Elizabeth PLATINUM, Othello, Washington
39 articles 0 photos 131 comments

Favorite Quote:
"And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it."
Roald Dahl

I love it! I can definitely feel the emotion in your repition and I can definitely to connect to what this girl is going through. The only thing I would say is was a little sticky and lacked flow at the beginning but then it flowed well after that. It's always hard to get the flow of a poem when you read it at first. This was really well written and I enjoyed it a lot! 

on Jan. 28 2014 at 10:43 am
lesjuggaletteforlife BRONZE, City, Oklahoma
1 article 0 photos 10 comments

Favorite Quote:
you say: i should be straight
i say: taste the rainbow biiitch

i love it!!!!

on Jan. 17 2014 at 4:28 pm
Myvoice4change SILVER, Other, Other
9 articles 3 photos 164 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Everything will be ok in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end."

You are very talented at writing free verse!!

on Jan. 7 2014 at 11:38 pm
VioletRoyal BRONZE, Lebanon, Indiana
3 articles 0 photos 26 comments

Favorite Quote:
"To be great takes time." - NK

Very well written.  This poem expresses the feelings and emotions associated with loneliness.  Someone that has gone through these emotions will be able to connect with your poem easily.  Enjoyed reading it.  I have no critiques.  All I can say is keep writing poetry, because you have a true gift of incorporating some passion and soul into your poetry.  :)

dinks PLATINUM said...
on Jan. 5 2014 at 8:41 pm
dinks PLATINUM, Hinsdale, Illinois
28 articles 0 photos 80 comments

Favorite Quote:
"and kisses are a better faith than freedom"

Great poem! Such deep meaning with a the use of straight forward sentences, keep it up

on Jan. 4 2014 at 2:43 pm
SeamanGlori BRONZE, Provo, Utah
3 articles 0 photos 5 comments
Super awesome, good job. Isolationism is an interesting and sometimes hard idea to express but you did a fantatstic job. 

on Jan. 3 2014 at 11:54 pm
Mollybug16 BRONZE, Cleveland, Tennessee
4 articles 0 photos 120 comments

Favorite Quote:
Impossible is not a word, it's just a reason for someone not to try.

Great poem. I agree with MetalHead36 its beautiful. I can really feel it, 5 stars.

Taconut7 GOLD said...
on Jan. 3 2014 at 1:04 pm
Taconut7 GOLD, Cohasset, Minnesota
17 articles 1 photo 34 comments

Favorite Quote:
Life's challenges are not to bring you down, they are to help you become a stronger and better person! -Me

"If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will forever live its life believing it is stupid." - Albert Einstein

I haven't read Catcher in the Rye before, so I can't relate this poem to the book. But, on the topic of isolation, this really did it justice. When reading the poem I thought of a little child with non loving parents. But like you said in the poem, it can pertain to more than just that. Great job!

on Jan. 1 2014 at 10:54 pm
Metalhead36 SILVER, Amherst, Massachusetts
8 articles 0 photos 23 comments

Favorite Quote:
Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality. - Edgar Allan Poe

The language of the poem is beautiful, each emotion goes from one to another in a very organized bridge. Well done. The biggest concern with the poem is the slight randomness of the ending; ghost of what? While it's a nice cliffhanger, the emotional build-up leads to a little-bit confusing ending. Other than that, very well written.