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Angela

March 9, 2011
By Anonymous

That pale little hand being led to the bedroom
Those corduroy jeans being tossed to the floor
That innocent smile as he leans in to kiss her
The green of her eyes as they lay down for more
The very same eyes I caught reading Harry Potter past their bedtime.

Those bouncy red curls flattened against the bedspread
Twisted and tangled and coated in gel
Those delicate hands exploring his body
Those tiny girl’s hands, that I knew so well
The very same that shook me awake year after year on Christmas morning.

What happened to the little princess?
The cross country runner?
The sweet baby girl?

The science fair champion:
Arching her back and closing her eyes
gasping and panting and
pulling him closer
To the body I held in the hospital.

The clumsy ballerina:
Being rocked back and forth
Going limp with pleasure
Sighing satisfied
With the voice that asked me for a later bed time.

My rosy cheeked child who loved musical theatre
and wore purple sweaters
is gone.

The author's comments:
A few weeks ago my best friend and I were sitting at her kitchen table just like we do every Tuesday after school and before play practice. Out of nowhere her mother burst into the kitchen holding the bottle of birth control pills that my friend had been taking behind her back. She didn't yell at my friend for hiding the fact that she'd been having sex from her, nor did she break into tears. She just stared at her daughter for the longest time with this penetrating expression on her face. For days it haunted me it was confused, wounded--indescribable. The pain I found in her eyes was my inspired this poem.

Note: The poem is entitled 'Angela' after the woman who's face inspired me. This name has been changed to protect her identity, and that of my friend.
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JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 164 comments.

fictitious-quandary GOLD said...
on Dec. 22 2011 at 8:07 am
fictitious-quandary GOLD, Orlando, Florida
18 articles 5 photos 83 comments

Favorite Quote:
Knowing is not enough; we must apply.<br /> Willing is not enough; we must do.<br /> Johann Wolfgang von Goethe<br /> <br /> &quot;Whether you think you can or you think you can&#039;t, you&#039;re right&quot;<br /> - Henry Ford

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Well good job you did great with descriptions of her. Very well written
ninja17 SILVER said...
on Dec. 5 2011 at 10:08 pm
ninja17 SILVER, Las Cruces, New Mexico
6 articles 0 photos 35 comments

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&quot;Sometimes we tend to be in despair when the person we love leaves us, but the truth is, it&#039;s not our loss, but theirs, for they left the only person who wouldn&#039;t give up on them.&quot;

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This was astounishing! I love it :) Haha especially the title ;D hahaha good job :)
Helena_Noel BRONZE said...
on Dec. 2 2011 at 4:47 pm
Helena_Noel BRONZE, Burnt Hills, New York
1 article 0 photos 629 comments

Favorite Quote:
&ldquo;I&#039;d rather see a sermon than hear one any day; I&#039;d rather one should walk with me than merely tell the way: The eye&#039;s a better pupil and more willing than the ear, fine counsel is confusing, but example&#039;s always clear.&rdquo; -Edgar Guest

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well, that I can agree with.
byebye said...
on Nov. 30 2011 at 6:36 pm
byebye, Nevermore, Other
0 articles 0 photos 250 comments
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I really felt more like a mother than a teeanage girl after reading this. That's really strong, if you can transport a reader into someone else's mind through poetry. I love it.

Hope some of you can check out my work! I'm dying for some comments on my poems, especially "Helium Balloons" :)

anonymous said...
on Nov. 30 2011 at 5:52 pm
Thanks! I meant that the subject has really curly red hair which she almost always gells. This is a portrait of a girl (albeit a very subjective one) and I was trying to really get her image in the readers head. 
Amsterdamsel DIAMOND said...
on Nov. 30 2011 at 5:39 pm
Amsterdamsel DIAMOND, Henderson , Nevada
54 articles 2 photos 69 comments
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what do you mean by coated in gel? :/

greast poem btw. it's really original.

Volleyballgirl1812 said...
on Nov. 30 2011 at 1:53 pm

wow. You put yourself in the mothes mind and you captured the betrayal (I think) and disapointment the mother felt. YOu did a fantastic job on this and it deserves to be awarded something.

 

_Jenna BRONZE said...
on Nov. 30 2011 at 8:45 am
_Jenna BRONZE, Swampscott, Massachusetts
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when I said beautiful I just ment it was a beautiful piece of work...
Jennypig GOLD said...
on Nov. 30 2011 at 6:38 am
Jennypig GOLD, Winslow, Maine
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Get living or get dying -Stepen King<br /> We are a little weird and life is a little weird, so when we find someone who&#039;s weirdness is compatible with our own, we fall in a mutual weirdness and call it love. -Dr. Seuss

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Wow, you can really feel the hurt that this mother would have/did. I really like how you put this. If you have time can you check out my work? I'd really enjoy your thoughts on some of my pieces
youngspeare BRONZE said...
on Nov. 30 2011 at 5:42 am
youngspeare BRONZE, Nairobi, Other
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this piece is awesome! Keep it up.
Check out my work, please :)
chrissie_star GOLD said...
on Nov. 29 2011 at 10:30 am
chrissie_star GOLD, Commerce, California
11 articles 0 photos 35 comments

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-like- LMAO!!!!!
RaveFire PLATINUM said...
on Nov. 27 2011 at 3:04 pm
RaveFire PLATINUM, Vancouver, Washington
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i think the authors note is almost as powerful as the poem.... wow :)
Loftus GOLD said...
on Nov. 25 2011 at 8:09 pm
Loftus GOLD, Ocoee, Florida
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This is just... It has left me speechless! There aren't enough words to describe what an amazing job you have done with this poem!
RaveFire PLATINUM said...
on Nov. 23 2011 at 12:24 am
RaveFire PLATINUM, Vancouver, Washington
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lol i know right?! AMAZING!!!
Helena_Noel BRONZE said...
on Nov. 21 2011 at 6:21 pm
Helena_Noel BRONZE, Burnt Hills, New York
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&ldquo;I&#039;d rather see a sermon than hear one any day; I&#039;d rather one should walk with me than merely tell the way: The eye&#039;s a better pupil and more willing than the ear, fine counsel is confusing, but example&#039;s always clear.&rdquo; -Edgar Guest

View profile
Beautiful? I wouln't say that. It made it seem very......disturbing. Wrong on so many levels. You assume automatically that she is a teen or adult....... but at the same time because of all the imagery you cant help but thinking the way as the mother........ It makes something so trivialized by our society seem once again frightening......... still, five stars.
emattox SILVER said...
on Nov. 16 2011 at 10:54 am
emattox SILVER, Onancock, Virginia
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I kept on trying but it wouldn't let me click ten stars :)
writer101 BRONZE said...
on Nov. 8 2011 at 4:36 pm
writer101 BRONZE, Shippensburg, Pennsylvania
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Amazing use of words and descripstion. I can feel the love the mother had for her daughter and her sadness of her growing older
Aubrie PLATINUM said...
on Nov. 8 2011 at 4:14 pm
Aubrie PLATINUM, Lancaster, Ohio
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Wow I love this, it shows how the mother feels of her daughters lost childlike innocence. This is fantastic!
jshawts SILVER said...
on Nov. 8 2011 at 3:28 pm
jshawts SILVER, Ottawa, Other
9 articles 2 photos 12 comments

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This is AMAZING! I love all of the small details you included. This is intriguing and dangerous at the same time. Great job! :)
Gracious PLATINUM said...
on Nov. 8 2011 at 2:45 pm
Gracious PLATINUM, Go Away, Kansas
22 articles 0 photos 66 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;life sucks and then you die, yeah, i should be so lucky&quot;<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> -Jacob, Twilight<br /> <br /> I&rsquo;m still that girl who falls when she runs, Getting back up, because falling is fun.

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Did you really think no one would notice that that's YOUR work. Dont lie to us, child.