Ophelia | Teen Ink

Ophelia

December 15, 2010
Sunshine.On.My.Shoulders BRONZE, -, Alaska
3 articles 1 photo 22 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there." -Will Rogers


Drowned by my own layers of shame
Each velvet blanket snaking around my legs
And pulling me down the iced river
Each stitch sewn with a bloody needle
Each weave a thread of hardened tears
Every skirt. Every slip.
Every condemned piece of clothing
That was tied and strapped and hung on my body
Like limp and heavy weeds.
Each layer I put on was my own guilt.
My own shame. My own suffering.
And each layer I put on clung to me
And with greedy hands pulled me down into the iced river
They say my death was Christian.
They say it was my heavy clothes that made me drown.
I tell you the truth now.
I was the one who threaded my clothes with the heaviness of sorrow.
And led myself to the gates of hell.


The author's comments:
This is inspired by Ophelia from Hamlet. It is barely free verse; it is written more like a poeticly rhythmed and structured monologue. Hope you enjoy :)

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This article has 1 comment.


on Oct. 18 2012 at 6:45 pm
JulianaLee BRONZE, Poway, California
4 articles 0 photos 4 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Ever since the days of Eden<br /> Apples have been man&#039;s desire.<br /> How overjoyed I am to think, sir,<br /> Apples grow, too, in my garden.&quot;<br /> ― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Faust

I love all theories about Ophelia, and I am wonderfully chilled by your final sentence.  This is excellent work.