I cried atlases and spoke direction | Teen Ink

I cried atlases and spoke direction

July 3, 2013
By Stephanie Wambugu BRONZE, Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Stephanie Wambugu BRONZE, Pawtucket, Rhode Island
4 articles 0 photos 1 comment

I have never been one to edit my writing
Or restate what I have already said
I have never been one to swallow smoke against my will
Or suck up words I've already spat out

I have never been one to iron my clothing
Or sew on patches
I am
I have no space in my mouth for apologies
I am still trying to unravel the strings of words caught in my teeth

I have never been one to stare at ceilings
I have learned to look away from clear pools of nothing
It is destructively easy to see yourself in the emptiness
To mistake your being for what is lacking in these no good things
I am an ill thing, but a young thing
I have not been set in stone

I have never been one to fantasize over a past I cannot live
Wish to be born into a different time
Sadness has no loyalties; she is not tied to your reality
She is sitting in the fillings of your mattress waiting to steal you away
Do not try to blow her away
Kill her with sharp glass pulled from your own recollections
That is the only way

I have never been one to curse the stars
I have never been one to curse the stars
I have never been one to curse the stars


The author's comments:
I wrote this because I think when you are young and a foreigner and a woman and a lot of other things some people can't understand or don't understand. People tirelessly try to label and command me. The stars are my fate. I'm not going to curse my fate because it is my own. I am taking it back from people who have given me these molds and boxes and ultimatums.

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This article has 3 comments.


on Jul. 9 2013 at 6:07 pm
PirateCountry DIAMOND, Muncie, Indiana
91 articles 18 photos 330 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."

Anytime! :)

on Jul. 9 2013 at 12:49 pm
Stephanie Wambugu BRONZE, Pawtucket, Rhode Island
4 articles 0 photos 1 comment
thank you so much, I'm glad we share a point of view! It's so incredible to know someone has read and understood your writing.

on Jul. 9 2013 at 11:48 am
PirateCountry DIAMOND, Muncie, Indiana
91 articles 18 photos 330 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."

Sometimes I feel a lot like you. Sometimes it sends the wrong message and people think we're rude and/or uncaring. But we just want to be free! Right? Good job with your poem! I loved it! My favorite part: "I have never been one to curse the stars."