Your Stop Sign | Teen Ink

Your Stop Sign

April 14, 2021
By ellabahari BRONZE, Bedford, New York
ellabahari BRONZE, Bedford, New York
2 articles 0 photos 0 comments

I've always wondered why we speed when our destination is unknown; why we drive so fast. 

We step on the gas of time, for what? To make the moment last?

But snap- in one second you can end up in a crash, whiplashed, thrown through the glass,  your remains turned into ash. 

Life gone in a flash.


As we drive towards oblivion, do we ever look back?

Realize that we are trying to escape the past rather than to get somewhere fast?

We drive over the speed limit, outrunning a life that does not merge with our desired path. 

For fun we drive around town 

to linger about 

the setting of our own doubt. 

Let’s go for a drive. Let’s escape our lives. 

Maybe if we go fast enough, we’ll have ourselves a surprise. 

 

I try to understand why we are all in a race to win our loss of innocence.

Why we crave to do more, and more, just hop the fence.

To take our clothes off, let our guards down, stop playing defense.

We try to relax our bodies from being so tense,

With someone who understands us, with someone we get.

Things can feel so real, and get so intense.

But little do you know, 

your pricelessness is at their dispense.

 


We try to escape our realities of being young and naive,

But at this age, is validation something you really need?

From the years and years of being told you are just a child, 

It probably feels empowering setting yourself free into the wild.

In a society that values physicality over mentality,

I hope you are setting yourself up for a success, and not a long-term tragedy.

 

I wonder- why do we feel most alive when we are the closest to death?

We throw ourselves off cliffs, just to be caught by a net.

Drown ourselves in liquor, hoping we can always come up for a breath.

I can drive a mile with my eyes closed, how much do you wanna bet?

I’ll go home with this man that I just met.

Fully intoxicated with lust, I’ll just assume he poses no threat.

If I survive tonight, I’ll live to tell an epic story that proves why I live life with no regrets.

 

I always wonder why we live as if we want it to go by in a flash.

Why we take the quickest paths,

yet want to make this moment, just like the car rides, last. 

An escape, alas,

from a world we cannot surpass,

An age we can’t help but bash. 

When we stare into the mirror of reality, we can’t help but dash.

We want to run as far away from what is real, press the gas.

We are not allowed to escape what is real, might as well do what it takes to make the time pass. 


The author's comments:

This piece is a reminder to slow down. In the hectic tendincies of life, we often forget to pause. In this poem, I question why teens feel the need to rush life rather than live in the moment. Although easier said than done, I believe we all are capable of being more present in life, and going through life one step at a time.


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This article has 2 comments.


on May. 4 2021 at 11:55 am
WolvesRain ELITE, Walton, Kentucky
117 articles 1 photo 190 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Every secret of a writer's soul, every experience of his life, every quality of his mind, is written large in his works." Virginia Wolf

If possible could you look at my work and give me some advice.

on Apr. 30 2021 at 12:34 pm
WolvesRain ELITE, Walton, Kentucky
117 articles 1 photo 190 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Every secret of a writer's soul, every experience of his life, every quality of his mind, is written large in his works." Virginia Wolf

That was a good poem! I felt connected to this poem because it made me think about how us as teens can rush ourselves into bad situations instead of taking the time to enjoy life.