All I Need Is a Friend | Teen Ink

All I Need Is a Friend MAG

January 28, 2009
By Ryan Moran BRONZE, Mt. Prospect, Illinois
Ryan Moran BRONZE, Mt. Prospect, Illinois
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

Books fill up my room.
Not baseball cards,
or pictures of girls,
or basketballs.
Maybe a blown up picture of …
… Pam Anderson might help.

Black-framed glasses
and a white,
pale,
lanky
body.
I should start working out.

At least I can read.
I read four books a day last summer.
The librarian,
80-year-old Mrs. Woodsworth,
she knows my middle name.
If only I had a real friend.
I am sick of seeing her old,
bony,
pale body.
Although it resembles mine.

The kids at school laugh.
Is it the way I dress?
Lacoste,
Ralph Lauren,
La Tigre.
I’ve tried every designer out there.
Staying in the house really saves me money.
My stupid rich parents give me $50 a week for lunch.
$50 times 36 weeks …
what is that?
$1,000,
$2,000,
$10,000?
I should probably know.
Straight A’s 12 years in a row
and counting.

With all of this,
or none of this –
it depends how you look at it –
all I need is a friend.



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This article has 1547 comments.


tazhpointo said...
on Mar. 17 2012 at 1:37 am
This was really provacative, the flow was like a raw and honest thought process and that makes it truly unique.  The whole thing gave me the impression of a long sigh.... And a little advice, if I may be so bold, maybe you have to be the kind of friend you are looking for...if your ideal friend would reach out their hand, maybe you should reach out to someone, and they might surprise you with the gift of friendship... its just a thought, you dont have to follow my advice, its just what your poem made me think of. Best of luck, and keep writing :)

on Mar. 15 2012 at 3:45 pm
HannahBelle PLATINUM, Effie, Louisiana
30 articles 0 photos 13 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." ~ Albert Einstein

*once Sorry :)

on Mar. 15 2012 at 3:44 pm
HannahBelle PLATINUM, Effie, Louisiana
30 articles 0 photos 13 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." ~ Albert Einstein

I liked it. It describes me oce upon a time. You will find that friend one day and it will be worth thewait. :) keep writing!

on Mar. 15 2012 at 10:55 am
emily809 SILVER, Camas, Washington
8 articles 0 photos 4 comments

Favorite Quote:
"When our actions do not, our fears make us traitors" ~Macbeth

I didnt really consider that until now, and I think you're right. If the person over did it the poem would lose the thing about it that is it's strongest point. The shortness the way that the poem kind of flows without dragging. I totally get where you're coming from :)

GittaR GOLD said...
on Mar. 15 2012 at 2:18 am
GittaR GOLD, Ararat, Other
10 articles 0 photos 16 comments

Favorite Quote:
Every man has purpose with which he sets out in his life. Let yours be the doing of all good deeds- Robin Hood BBC Series

I see what you mean with digging deeper and the simplicity of their words but i think the simplicity is what makes it great. I feel that over describing such a simple thing could ruin it. But I do see where you are coming from.

on Mar. 14 2012 at 12:08 pm
emily809 SILVER, Camas, Washington
8 articles 0 photos 4 comments

Favorite Quote:
"When our actions do not, our fears make us traitors" ~Macbeth

This piece has real truth and I enjoyed reading the poem, I think if you tried to dig a little deeper or maybe used different words it would have the potential to blow people away.

on Mar. 10 2012 at 7:12 pm
Doctor_elisa PLATINUM, Columbia, South Carolina
44 articles 0 photos 2 comments

Favorite Quote:
"There are limitations and there are protocols and I’ve been warned that I’m not supposed to threaten or beg for pieces of someone’s soul."

Richard Siken, ‘The Long and Short of It

"My mother told me I had a chameleon soul, no moral compass pointing due north, no fixed personality; just an inner indecisiveness that was as wide and as wavering as the ocean" -unknown

I really like this, it describes what a lot of people probably go through in high school. I did, for a while, but I'm making friends now. Not sure if they're real friends, but time will tell I suppose. 
If this is really what's happening in your life, good luck, and just remember, that one day you will find that perfect friend who will always be there for you. :) 

 happy writing
 -Cyra


on Mar. 6 2012 at 8:38 pm
Shortty1314 GOLD, Fox Lake, Illinois
14 articles 2 photos 34 comments

Favorite Quote:
"What, do you really think I was
strong enough to handle it?
If you did, then sweetie, you
don't know me at all.
These "smiles" are fake.
Just another lie people bought.
You will never know the disaster
that's behind them." -Anonymous

I realy enjoyed reading this. (: You described the perfect friend, just like you. I hope you do one day find that friend that you're looking for, beside those interesting books which lay on your floor (: Keep writing !

on Mar. 6 2012 at 8:38 pm
Shortty1314 GOLD, Fox Lake, Illinois
14 articles 2 photos 34 comments

Favorite Quote:
"What, do you really think I was
strong enough to handle it?
If you did, then sweetie, you
don't know me at all.
These "smiles" are fake.
Just another lie people bought.
You will never know the disaster
that's behind them." -Anonymous

I realy enjoyed reading this. (: You described the perfect friend, just like you. I hope you do one day find that friend that you're looking for, beside those interesting books which lay on your floor (: Keep writing !

on Mar. 6 2012 at 8:06 pm
BT1718 PLATINUM, Worthington, Ohio
24 articles 0 photos 14 comments

Favorite Quote:
dream as if youll live forever live as if youll die today

 really like this quote and im the same way my friends are my books 

 


blwblw1 SILVER said...
on Mar. 6 2012 at 5:29 pm
blwblw1 SILVER, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
8 articles 1 photo 26 comments

Favorite Quote:
Reading takes you into a world far beyond your eyes can see.
and
L'amor Che More il Sole e L'altre Stelle

if you really describes yourself in that... YOU SOUND LIKE THE PERFECT BEST FRIEND! just saying...

 


Kianie GOLD said...
on Mar. 6 2012 at 1:50 pm
Kianie GOLD, Westphalia, Kansas
10 articles 0 photos 13 comments

Favorite Quote:
"You are the music as the music lasts" - Stevie Wonder

I like this poem! It really shows what some highschoolers might go through!

on Mar. 6 2012 at 9:27 am
Alvar-Knight SILVER, Harlingen, Texas
7 articles 5 photos 28 comments

Favorite Quote:
what is said flies,
what is written never dies.

i liked this poem i never thought ppl wrote like this. i love it. <3

on Mar. 6 2012 at 9:27 am
Alvar-Knight SILVER, Harlingen, Texas
7 articles 5 photos 28 comments

Favorite Quote:
what is said flies,
what is written never dies.

i liked this poem i never thought ppl wrote like this. i love it. <3

StarStrukk said...
on Mar. 6 2012 at 9:25 am
i LOVE this poem. It truly defines the lives for some high school students. Money can buy you "materialistic" things, but it can't buy you popularity or "true" friends.

eddys96 SILVER said...
on Mar. 4 2012 at 6:52 pm
eddys96 SILVER, Sacramento, California
9 articles 0 photos 12 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away."
—Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Don't Be Afraid if things seem difficult in the beginning. That's only initial impression.. The Important things is not the Retreat; You have to Master Yourself

I like this. But how does someone get some many comments and rates on their poems and stuff?

MMorton said...
on Feb. 28 2012 at 8:22 am
MMorton, N/A, North Carolina
0 articles 0 photos 23 comments
It's 1800 dollars.

tomtomtom said...
on Feb. 26 2012 at 6:24 pm
Definitely one of my favorites on this site! 

on Feb. 24 2012 at 10:19 am
AimeeRichae SILVER, Acworth, Georgia
9 articles 0 photos 17 comments

Favorite Quote:
"If life hands me lemons, you better believe I'll be making the best dang lemonade ever!"

I love this its so simple seaming yet you have to read it its so good.

Yaya21 GOLD said...
on Feb. 23 2012 at 12:10 pm
Yaya21 GOLD, Columbus, Ohio
15 articles 1 photo 18 comments

Favorite Quote:
love and death what it is dont stop in fear, love yall ba, leave please, danger is reality, dont controll the feelin then y keep having it. hurt and pain is all part of life. life is too short to waste. believe what u believe in. love is a passion

OMG!!! when i was reading this i couldnt take my eyes off the  screen... this is very guud !!!