Teen Poems

Samantha Buttrick

When I started thinking about the kinds of subjects teens write about, I took a look back at some of my earlier writings. That may not have been a good idea. My poetry was very dark. The mood was melancholy, the subjects were depressing, and the writing wasn’t very good. Luckily, that’s not what I found when I began looking at other’s works.   I found wonderful, deep, and entertaining poems written about every subject imaginable. I picked a few that stood out to me, and I hope you enjoy them. The first two poems were written for the parents of the authors. We all know that the teenage years aren’t exactly the time when you freely express love for your parents. (I spent those years focusing on my drab poetry.) But these two pieces are a candid look at how teens feel about their parents.

The 22 Sounds of My Father
by Amanda B.

Mr. Tambourine Man” by Bob Dylan playing on the car radio
Boots hitting against the polished brick floor of my hallway
The History Channel left on at two a.m. in my living room
Hands sculpting red clay into faces
The woods of Pennsylvania at dusk
Beaded leather medicine bags atop a glass table
The engine of an old muscle car roaring beyond its capabilities
The spiral of a football
Sundance drums beating atop a Montana hill
The chewing of a peach
When rain hits leather
When a child stops crying
When the leaves start to rustle
A vanilla milkshake waiting for me on the counter
Fire cackling
My mother
Olives in a glass jar
Football pads knocking in 1957
Change jingling
Volatile words rushing out of a mouth
Feathers laughing
Love.

Mama’s Things
by Heather M.

We were the bangs that
covered her eyes ...
the bangs that hadn’t been washed
in ages and
so we danced around her forehead,
waiting to be brushed
to the side,
in any attempt to look nice.
We were her car keys because
we always got lost,
no matter where she put us,
it was our fault (we never were good listeners),
we were always shiny around,
like a trinket of independence.
We were her lungs,
we always helped her breathe and
we brought her a mask
due to too many cigars she smoked,
she was a woman with manly lungs;
torn lungs more like,
but still, we stayed with her.
We were pearls, her
beautiful prized pearls,
and she showed us off to company.
Beautiful gems that showed
she had at least
an ounce of class.
And we were her bed-sheets and her pillows,
- (and all of the above) -
She leaned on us, and we made her comfortable,
(Don’t all people have to change their sheets?)
we made a nice bed for her to lay on
when she had a notorious headache.
All because we was Mama’s kids.

The next two poems are a look at the struggle to find who you are as a teen and to identify those things that set you apart from the others. I think they capture the search for individuality and self-expression, and the struggle within those things well.

Masks
by Jessica Fink

Each time I want to disappear,
I hide behind a mask
And there I stay till comfortable
Or till the danger’s passed.
Every mask is different
Mine’s my face, my moods.
I put on mine when insecure
Or when I’m most confused.
I cover my embarrassment,
I try to hide my fears
. I become a different person
As I hold inside my tears.
I put on masks with teachers,
I put them on with friends,
I put on masks with family,
My collection never ends.
On thing I need to work at,
One thing I need to do,
Is learn to take my mask off,
When I am with you.

 Rain
by Michelle Lancaster

 I sit there
Wishing I could
just fade away
I curl up
wanting to be
as small as I feel
Sometimes I think
I could stay here forever
and no one would know
I’m all alone
scared to death
searching for an explanation
Why is the sun out
for everyone else
when all I get is rain?

The last two poems express the ups and downs of those first loves… you know, those ones that still cause butterflies when you think about them, no matter how old you are or how much you’ve changed. J  

My Morning Angel
by Melonie Loraine Clark

at dawn I love to watch you sleep
angelic in your motionlessness
so trusting
so safe
the sun simply adores you
as it dances about the curly red hair
twisted about my finger
I'm drawn to your sandalwood scented skin
and revel in your ardor
you're solid-
encompassing
I could not imagine waking
without you by my side
feeling your breath on my neck
the warmth of your touch
the joy in my heart
that comes from having you near
I relish in that which is you
as my eyes close
and I again drift off to sleep in your arms

 Untitled
by Jessica Reynolds

in my past, but in my way
still thinking about yesterday
can't seem to get you off my mind
afraid to look, what would I find?
Shadows of who I used to be,
that is all that's left of me
it hurts more than you'll ever know
I don't want to let you go
But I guess that's not for me to choose
Right or wrong, I have to lose
Say I'm o-k, and fake a smile
then pray those lies will last awhile

If you want to check some more teen poetry, a good site is Teen Ink: Poetry . Lots of talented teens contribute to that site. Until next time, if you have any comments feel free to e-mail me.   Blessings, Samantha.