The Ballad of No One in Particular | Teen Ink

The Ballad of No One in Particular MAG

February 28, 2014
By HannaHarris GOLD, Houston, Texas
HannaHarris GOLD, Houston, Texas
11 articles 1 photo 7 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I've got 40 ridiculous ideas every single second and I intend to express them all." -Ezra Miller


When I asked him,
my fingers still tasting like tobacco
As I bit them until they bled,
How bad are you?
He simply replied, “I don't know
My own phone number right now.”

He has bruises on his arms
in the shape of crescent moons and
Deep cuts on his face from where
The shaving cream didn't cover

He carries something you can't see
Like nails through his back up his spine
He sings Simon and Garfunkel as I
fall asleep
And it sounds like a “thank you” covered in
Red lipstick stains

He could taste the stale cigarette smoke
in this poem
I can see him in his zodiac leather jacket
Shaking and smoking and self-soothing
and slipping
Away from reality, tasting blood
I should not be with anyone who forgets
my name
This easily
I should not be pretending that
someday we'll
Stop talking about monsters

I can't decide if he's angry or pathetic or
Something entirely different
But I'm pretty sure at least half of him
is dying
He's laughing as if his velvet bones don't
Scream like God
And in this moment, he radiates a sense of
dizzying freedom
And he's beautiful



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This article has 4 comments.


on Apr. 18 2014 at 12:50 am
TaylorWintry DIAMOND, Carrollton, Texas
72 articles 0 photos 860 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Never fear shadows. They simply mean there's a light shining somewhere nearby." - Unknown

Wow. I don't know how you're able to string such a perfect sequence of words together, but you've really got this poetry thing down. This is really cool, and the last line is a real twist. Nice job.

Hanban12 ELITE said...
on Apr. 17 2014 at 6:16 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

Beautiful, beautiful poem. The emotions are just so deep and pure that every word is just amazing... I love it. Your writing definitely deserves to be in the magazine, congrats! :)

on Apr. 17 2014 at 4:40 pm
Alaska Williams BRONZE, Centralia, Washington
1 article 0 photos 1 comment
Absolutely loved it! Please keep posting!

Blynn SILVER said...
on Mar. 3 2014 at 6:50 pm
Blynn SILVER, Waco, Texas
9 articles 0 photos 97 comments
Nice poem!