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Conversation With My Thirteen-Year-Old Self

Posted by MistakenMagic on November 6, 2008 - 09:28
from the ABC set Following the White Rabbit

You sit on your dad’s desk chair
prodding that pale star-shaped scar
on your right thumb,
trying to mould it back into the skin.
But still it reappears, shining just as before.
At school they call you ‘fatty’
and wipe their shoes on your bag.
You’re always picked last for teams,
but this gives you longer to daydream
- about plotting Henry Fulton’s demise.
You see him kissing Paige in the lunch line.
She’s thin and pretty with gingerbread plaits.
Oh, how you envy her.
At night you write that boy’s name
on a piece of folded red paper
and sprinkle sugar over the top,
placing it under your pillow,
just like your friend told you to.
She said if you wished hard enough
he’d ask you out.
But part of you doesn’t believe that.
You’re a rebel, Rebecca.
I know you feel that burn
clinging to your heart.
And it won’t let go.
Because you know you’ll show them.
Because, like that star on your right thumb,
every time they try to fade you out
you only return, shining brighter
than ever before.

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Comments

littleditty | November 6, 2008 - 10:01

what a great ending - well done!

MistakenMagic | November 6, 2008 - 10:17

Thanks littleditty :) Funny you should mention the ending - it took me ages to come up with it, then I realised it was staring me right in the face and I made the poem circular!

capoeiragem | November 6, 2008 - 11:19

Indeed a great ending, rather partial to the beginning and middle as well...I loved the detail of the boy's name on a piece of paper:

'sprinkle sugar on top,
placing it under your pillow,
just like your friend told you to'

Really enjoyed this, thanks!

Bradene | November 6, 2008 - 18:34

Goodness this took me back to when I was that age, I hated everything about myself but always had the feeling that one day I would show 'em! beautiful writing and very realistic. Love the ending very well done. Val x

Silver Spun Sand | November 6, 2008 - 19:25

Took me right back, too, this one, Magic. If I can remember that long ago:-) I too adored those lines that were quoted a couple of comments ago. I also love the reference to the 'gingerbread plaits'. A Magic touch, indeed.

Congrats on another super poem.

Tina xxx

MistakenMagic | November 7, 2008 - 15:03

Gosh so many lovely reviews! Thank you everyone for taking the time to comment :)

Magic xxx

Holly | January 6, 2009 - 17:25

Great poem!!
I'm barely a teenager myself and I felt i could relate to this really well. I loved the 'gingerbread plaits' too. Dead imaginative!