how to build a house | Teen Ink

how to build a house MAG

October 13, 2012
By UtopianSociety PLATINUM, Brooklyn, New York
UtopianSociety PLATINUM, Brooklyn, New York
20 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
"Why is being a nerd bad? Saying ‘I noticed you’re a nerd’ is like saying ‘hey, I noticed that you’d rather be intelligent than be stupid, that you’d rather be thoughtful than be vapid.'" - John Green


this is how you build a house.

find land, claim a stake in it ­­–
no matter if someone else is already living there.

chop down all visible greenery,
then section off a designated quadrant,
this will be the lawn.

(fight, build) with tooth and nail
blood red splattering wood and bricks
this is to ensure a little piece of yourself
remains in the soon-to-exist.

make a roof,
so you can never see the stars.

make three walls,
install the fourth,
and never break it.

find someone whose eyes shine
bright; artificial contacts work as well –
they're there to replace stars that
you have already forgotten.

raise two.five kids,
watch them revel in that patch of
grass out front and never
tell your antsy little boy
about the forest out back (and a
couple of years ago).

feed them a steady diet of
marshmallow puffs and corn puffs
and cheese puffs and pray to yourself
they don't end up puffing a pipe.

follow the end of your youth,
through their beginning –
substitute sugarcane for the saccharine
goodness of daytime TV,
math + math = 2(math).

show them the universe –
in censored pictures of crossed-out stars
and tell them that pluto
is no longer a planet.

this is how you build a house,
in a couple of steps.

(it turns out you picked up the
wrong book from your public library.
this one says)

this is how you build a tomb.



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This article has 4 comments.


on Mar. 11 2015 at 4:56 am
Ray--yo PLATINUM, Kathmandu, Other
43 articles 2 photos 581 comments

Favorite Quote:
God Makes No Mistakes. (Gaga?)
"I have hated the words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right." -Liesel Meminger via Markus Zusac, "The Book Thief"

Amazing! I'm really glad I got to read this, thanks a lot.

KatsK DIAMOND said...
on Apr. 2 2013 at 12:12 pm
KatsK DIAMOND, Saint Paul, Minnesota
57 articles 0 photos 301 comments

Favorite Quote:
Being inexhaustible, life and nature are a constant stimulus for a creative mind.
~Hans Hofmann
You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.
~Ray Bradbury

You are an amazing poet. The imagery and your concise word choice and the ending are all perfect. It's stunning and brilliant. I'm really impressed.

on Mar. 20 2013 at 1:53 am
TheSkyOwesMeRain GOLD, Irvine, California
13 articles 1 photo 299 comments

Favorite Quote:
Life isn't measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments which take your breath away.

You are only as strong as your weakest link.

I love the ending, it gave me the chills!

utility BRONZE said...
on Dec. 11 2012 at 8:20 pm
utility BRONZE, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
4 articles 0 photos 2 comments
i first read this poem in the print edition right next to my own ("After-Thought") and my first reaction was to be ashamed at having my own poem on the same page, or even in the same issue, as if the quality is even somewhat comparable.  so i immediately opened teenink just to say that this piece is shocking and progressive and soberly provacative.  it strikes me as a form of graceful and subdued protest, yet it's the furthest thing from pretentiousness -- this piece is as genuine as it gets.  this is the best piece by a teenager i've ever read, and i thank you so much for writing it.