Something Vital | Teen Ink

Something Vital MAG

July 8, 2009
By BookWorm579 PLATINUM, Elk Grove, California
BookWorm579 PLATINUM, Elk Grove, California
26 articles 0 photos 33 comments

Favorite Quote:
"à cœur vaillant rien d’impossible [nothing is impossible to a willing heart]" -French Proverb


I sit with my friends on the gray concrete,
Backs to the chain-link fence,
And a green, grassy field
Spreads out beyond like a mini-forest.

There are jokes told,
Good humor floats in the air
Like spring pollen,
But I must be allergic.

I open my mouth
And I want to laugh,
But I barely manage a cough;
I feel I cannot breathe.

As if I inhale the fun
And it sticks in my throat;
Like I have nothing
To interpret it
And fill the hollow inside.
Something vital is missing.

Two of our number
Go to the field, merry and carefree.
Two of our number,
A girl and I, stand, looking on;
Hands against the chilly fence like prisoners.

A thought occurs to me
And I voice it to her:
“You know what I miss most
About elementary school?”

Like a seer,
She answers my question
As if it were her own:
“Recess.”

I look at her
In a new light:
Somehow, stumbling in the jungle,
I've found a kindred spirit.

Someone who's lost that vital …
Something –
A full and complete
And beautiful freedom.


The author's comments:
This incident really did happen and the emotions described are genuine. I'm sure most of us have felt as if we're trapped and long for more innocent days.

Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 0 comments.