Words | Teen Ink

Words MAG

April 11, 2008
By Anonymous

When you are young
People tell you,
“Sticks and stones may break your bones,
But words can never hurt you.”
Every time someone tells me that
I just turn to say,
“I would have to disagree.”
Because profanity and insults
Are just as painful
As a whip on the bare back of a sunburned slave.
It’s a stinging kind of feeling
That never really goes away
And stays with you long after the damage has been done.
They are memories to remember
Or scars to touch.
So you tell me,
Because I find it very hard to see,
How words don’t hurt at all.



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This article has 20 comments.


iisurvived said...
on May. 9 2011 at 10:50 am
iisurvived, Omaha, Nebraska
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Giving up does&#039;nt always mean your weak, it sometimes just means your strong enough to let go and loose...&quot; <br /> &quot;When people look at me I want to be remembered as the girl who always had a smile on her face, even when she was tearing away inside...&quot;

i like it tons!! very true!!

on Mar. 17 2011 at 8:38 am
laurelli BRONZE, Powell, Tennessee
4 articles 0 photos 5 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot; If we couldn&#039;t laugh. we would all go crazy&quot; -Jimmy Buffett

i very much agree. sometimes words hurt worse that the deepest cuts and take a million times longer to heal.  great job on your poem!

on Mar. 1 2011 at 3:43 pm
HannSawyer15 BRONZE, North Brunswick, New Jersey
1 article 0 photos 107 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;I say... lets speak it. Lets fight it. Lets write it. There&#039;s nothing to hold on to if it&#039;s already gone.&quot;

Awesome poem. :)

LunaLives GOLD said...
on Nov. 21 2010 at 2:18 pm
LunaLives GOLD, South Bend, Indiana
17 articles 0 photos 237 comments

Favorite Quote:
Because I can!-Me &quot;Life is a choice and death is a decision&quot;-Lil Wayne

I feel exactly the same way!

Crispy said...
on Oct. 20 2010 at 9:26 am
Crispy, Spotsylvania, Virginia
0 articles 0 photos 22 comments
I agree 100% with your work. I have been called names and remember hurtful things that people have said to me and on the outside I don't let them know that it hurt but it did and it still does. Words pople say don't go away they stay in your mind forever.

on Oct. 19 2010 at 9:53 am
Dessometrics BRONZE, Charleston, South Carolina
4 articles 0 photos 43 comments

Favorite Quote:
currently seeking

i love it and couldnt agree more

gymn88 said...
on Jun. 9 2010 at 9:04 pm
gymn88, Mattawan, Michigan
0 articles 0 photos 5 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;People Never Change&quot;

i really loved your poem and i feel the same way.  all the memories of insults hurts and will never go away

bmmsth said...
on Mar. 2 2010 at 9:40 am
this is very true words do hurt alot...some peope say that they dont really care wut is said but everyone really does after a while...ayway very good

on Nov. 26 2009 at 1:19 pm
Reaa.Mae.Kuzyk GOLD, Arborg, Manitoba, Other
13 articles 0 photos 63 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Why live trying to just DIE, when people are DYING just for the chance to LIVE.&quot;<br /> -Anomynous<br /> <br /> &quot;Time has a wonderful way of showing us what really matters.&quot;<br /> - Margaret Peters

Preach it hun. <3

I totally agree with you on this.

Words do hurt. A lot. =\.

on Nov. 16 2009 at 8:54 pm
choirchic101 SILVER, Norwalk, California
9 articles 0 photos 196 comments

Favorite Quote:
in order for God to use all of you you have to be completely broken

i agree with that. words are powerful.

on Aug. 4 2009 at 4:46 am
Hollywog. PLATINUM, Mole Creek, Other
21 articles 23 photos 65 comments

Favorite Quote:
It&#039;s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all..<br /> <br /> An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind - Ghandi

I LOVE this poem. I agree with it entirely and I'd have to say that it is one of the best and most inspiring poems I've read in a long time.

This totally relates to what's going on in my life at the moment.

Keep the incredible work up!

Well done!

xx

on May. 21 2009 at 1:29 am
something that everyone can relate too......

mcBut3r SILVER said...
on Apr. 1 2009 at 10:55 pm
mcBut3r SILVER, South Yarmouth, Massachusetts
6 articles 0 photos 7 comments
love it, i was thinking about that saying as few weeks ago, totally agreeing with you... :)

on Mar. 6 2009 at 9:53 pm
Kitti-Chan PLATINUM, Wichita, Kansas
22 articles 0 photos 12 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Accept what you can&#039;t change. Change what you can&#039;t accept.&quot;

Loved it it was really cool and i totally agree!!!

on Mar. 1 2009 at 7:18 pm
True very true!

meggyt BRONZE said...
on Feb. 27 2009 at 12:03 am
meggyt BRONZE, Cranford, New Jersey
1 article 0 photos 26 comments
It's weird.. today I was just writing a poem in my head about this exact idea. Sticks and stones, words may never hurt me. It's interesting how people can have the same thoughts and ideas.

on Feb. 22 2009 at 7:12 am
CoOkIeMuNsTeR SILVER, Oakley, California
5 articles 0 photos 1 comment
I really like this poem! I agree with your view of the saying "sticks and stones" its completely ironic.

on Feb. 17 2009 at 2:48 am
SaveThEmpty SILVER, Rathbun, Iowa
9 articles 0 photos 16 comments
true true..this would have to be a fave of mine!

frankys-baby said...
on Feb. 16 2009 at 7:31 pm
this is so true and i agree that words are somtimes like a whip

bRonwYn_e GOLD said...
on Feb. 15 2009 at 4:06 pm
bRonwYn_e GOLD, Bon Aqua, Tennessee
19 articles 1 photo 14 comments

Favorite Quote:
Denial is expected in the face of puuure eeevil.

so true, so true. BTW: I love the simile about the slave...my English teacher would love you for that one. :-D