Desolation | Teen Ink

Desolation

August 16, 2013
By stuntddude BRONZE, Columbia, Missouri
stuntddude BRONZE, Columbia, Missouri
3 articles 1 photo 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
because the fear is always there, but we keep it at a distance - through a broken lens, facts and figures we so easily forget, or a song about somebody else


So here I am.

I'm not sure if I've ever found any trace of my own kind. I spend most of my time building. With each passing day, my projects get bigger and more elaborate. It's what keeps me from tripping over the edge. It preserves my sanity, along with these creatures I call my friends. Most of them keep me company. Others just try to wipe me out.

I can stare at the landscape for hours. What is this place? Why is it so empty? And sometimes I wonder whether there's more to it. A purpose, a reason for this place to exist. I wonder if there's more out there than just those cattle and hogs, wandering aimlessly. Like me.

I believe that I'm different. And one day, I aim to prove it. Yet I still have to wonder - do the animals look at the landscape and reflect like I do? What thoughts entertain the mind of a sheep or chicken? I don't know. Now that I think about it, there's a long list of things I don't know. Why am I here? Where am I from? What else is out there?

I don't know if I'll ever get back to where I came from, but this is my home now. I cut down these trees, and made them into lumber. I smelted this sand into glass. I climbed mountains to escape the wild beasts of this land. And I've dug into the very heart of the earth, and seen the jeweled treasure hidden there. This is where I stand. I carved my home out of clay and solid rock. And one day, someone will find it. They will see what I've left behind. And I promise you this: Whosoever comes to this land, they will know... I was here.

There's only one fear that plagues me. What if no one ever comes? This is as close to rescue as I'm going to get. I've got a house, and a warm bed. In the summer, I've got sandy beaches. In the winter, I've got hot fires and a bowl of mushroom soup. And I've got a spare bedroom ready, just in case somebody needs it. Until then, I will hold the line. And I will wait.

I can't tell you what tomorrow will bring. I can only tell you that I'll be here for it.


The author's comments:
A short piece reflecting on futility, vanity, and the mental and emotional aspects of desolation.

Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 7 comments.


on Apr. 10 2015 at 7:38 pm
Clary_Fray DIAMOND, Castro Valley, California
50 articles 13 photos 35 comments

Favorite Quote:
foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of the mind
-rwe

This is a great piece of work. Really, poetic... love, love, love it! So from this work, I would bet you'd like this YouTuber called vsauce. Look him up.

on Feb. 26 2015 at 1:41 am
abbylane SILVER, Houston, Texas
5 articles 0 photos 2 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I feel my fate in what I cannot fear.
I learn by going where I have to go."
Theodore Roethke, "The Waking"

Hey so I know we have been in a debate in a forum for a while, but I just wanted to tell you how great I think your work is. And I swear I'm not just being a suck up. I especially loved this piece and Mind Palace, and I can't tell you enough how much talent I think you have. I don't know if you're interested in writing novels, but I really think this would make for an awesome apocalyptic YA series. I'd definitely read it.

Ana143 GOLD said...
on Feb. 6 2015 at 11:05 am
Ana143 GOLD, Bolivar, Ohio
17 articles 4 photos 64 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Your always beautiful in my eyes"
"Be who you are not what someone else wants you to be"

it was really good. You are good at what you do and I love how well you can see what they see and feel what they feel. Very good

on Oct. 28 2013 at 8:29 pm
ramfthomas4 PLATINUM, South Bend, Indiana
26 articles 1 photo 98 comments

Favorite Quote:
“If the present world go astray, the cause is in you, in you it is to be sought.”
― Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy

very good.

Mckay ELITE said...
on Sep. 18 2013 at 3:19 pm
Mckay ELITE, Somewhere, Virginia
146 articles 0 photos 2230 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do."
—Apple’s “Think Different” commercial, 1997
“Crazy people are considered mad by the rest of the society only because their intelligence isn't understood.”
― Weihui Zhou

Like Jade, I was curious about your work. And seeing that Jade commented on this, I decided to do so myself. The style of your writing reminds me a little of stream-of-conscious-writing (I'm sure you know the technique, given that you're well informed in just about every thing), where the writer used his thoughts to guide him throughout his writing. I like the rhetorical questions you use. I know when I'm feeling this way too, I tend to ask questions like the ones you use. Also, the emotion you implemented fits perfectly into the story. I was a bit lost as to who this person could be, why is he there, and where exactly he is. Nonetheless, I don't think those additional details were necessary for this story. Well done. 

on Sep. 18 2013 at 10:33 am
TargonTheDragon GOLD, Ofallon, Missouri
15 articles 16 photos 292 comments

Favorite Quote:
First dentistry was painless.
Then bicycles were chainless,
Carriages were horseless,
And many laws enforceless.

Next cookery was fireless,
Telegraphy was wireless,
Cigars were nicotineless,
And coffee caffeineless.

Soon oranges were seedless,
The putting green was weedless,
The college boy was hatless,
The proper diet fatless.

New motor roads are dustless,
The latest steel is rustless,
Our tennis courts are sodless,
Our new religion — godless.

I agree with Jade. and i can also understand your fear, and the path that your mind wanders.    but i think that your hunger for answers is what most people lack. your not afraid to ask "the big questions", unlike alot of other people who hold to the position of 'if i dont think about it, i wont have to worry about it.    over all, i like it very much. 

on Sep. 18 2013 at 8:39 am
Jade.I.Am ELITE, Fishers, Indiana
214 articles 14 photos 1159 comments

Favorite Quote:
“If you're losing your soul and you know it, then you've still got a soul left to lose”
― Charles Bukowski

I was just curious, so I read this....and I'm really impressed. I like the uncertain, but unflinching tone to this, and how you can question the whys and how's and be confident without knowing the answer. That's the feel I got from this. Wanting to leave something memorable behind, people to remember it, and whatnot. Good piece, I think the style and everything was written very well too. A little more sentimental than I expected, but it's nice XD