Ally in the Bowling Alley | Teen Ink

Ally in the Bowling Alley

September 4, 2015
By MikeLiberty GOLD, Lawrenceville, New Jersey
MikeLiberty GOLD, Lawrenceville, New Jersey
11 articles 0 photos 6 comments

Our Ally, our Ally, the gentle friend of ours. Our Ally.
These times are rough and rainy,
but our Ally makes us all look zainy.
It gets to us so much
that we’re irritated by just a touch.
But our amazing Ally...

 

How amazing our Ally is.
Her touch is like a kiss.
Her presence you’ll miss.
Her presents you’ll miss.
Her most perfect present is this:
not at all the blessed touch of her scarlet lips,
but her kind words.
Her words heal burns!
They’re so nice that we line up to take turns
hearing our Ally’s amazing, wonderful words.

 

Still, our Ally fails to be our Ally
when she’s in the bowling alley.
Ally, Ally in the bowling alley. Ally.
The way she bowls...
It’s like she throws
instead of rolls.
That’s how Ally bowls.
And who knows if she knows
that that’s not the way a normal person bowls.
She almost crushed her toes!
That’s how Ally bowls!

 

She says that she must,
and that in her word we should trust.
She says we shouldn’t worry...
but at times our eyes get blurry!

 

All alone, Ally bowls into the late night.
The pins, shatter they might
when Ally has a stronger night!
When she releases the ball, it could ignite
and bring an early end to night!
The pins quiver with fright,
and Ally’s eyes turn fiery and bright!
Ally in the bowling alley.
How hard it would be without our Ally,
even if she isn’t our Ally when she’s in the bowling alley.


The author's comments:

     The creation of this poem was very unusual for me. Usually, the creation of one of my poems or stories starts with some theme that I have in mind for it. With this poem, what happened was I was at a bowling alley, and the phrase "Ally in the bowling alley" essentially appeared in my mind and would not go away for the rest of the day. After several days, the phrase reappeared in my mind and would not leave me alone until I added on to the phrase. It was as though it wanted company. I then decided to take a pen and paper, which isn't how I write, and start writing lines of poetry that rhymed with no particular scheme. Most of those lines ended up being used.

 

     The simple phrase, "Ally in the bowling alley," expanded into a one-page-long poem that I feel has more flow and style when read aloud appropriately than any other poem of mine. As for meaning, I discovered meaning only after I had finished the first draft, which was very strange for me. I then added on to it and improved the wording, and "Ally in the Bowling Alley" is what I would call a milestone in my writing. 


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