When I am Dead | Teen Ink

When I am Dead MAG

January 21, 2009
By HannahW BRONZE, West Des Moines, Iowa
HannahW BRONZE, West Des Moines, Iowa
1 article 0 photos 2 comments

When I am dead, my dearest, don’t stick my bones
together with Scotch tape. Do not try to fit them
underneath a frame. Use them, one by one,
as a weapon, a gavel. My bones,
they can be good back scratchers, honey mixers,
and hands of clocks.

You can toss them across space
and see how far they’ll glide until another hand
slips across it. When I am dead, dearest,
thread my bones to the top of a mountain.

The next time you arrive at a glass sea,
spill it boldly. Spell your life in two parts,
watch them float until they descend
like a weight down into that container.



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This article has 406 comments.


Trulie GOLD said...
on Dec. 2 2010 at 7:14 pm
Trulie GOLD, Beltsville, Maryland
10 articles 10 photos 51 comments
i second that

on Dec. 2 2010 at 1:29 pm
CarveTheMoon PLATINUM, New City, New York
30 articles 0 photos 19 comments

Favorite Quote:
If music be the food of love play on!

Oh my.... This is the BEST thing i have ever read better than any of mine at least! you are really good! Keep Writing i am gonna keep looking at ur stuff! :)

lele18 said...
on Dec. 2 2010 at 12:16 pm
this is really good

lbr17 BRONZE said...
on Dec. 2 2010 at 12:10 pm
lbr17 BRONZE, Houston, Texas
2 articles 1 photo 5 comments

Favorite Quote:
"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years."
-Abraham Lincoln

This was amazing! Great work :]

toni0896 said...
on Dec. 1 2010 at 1:27 pm
i agree <333

on Nov. 30 2010 at 3:47 pm
sassybananas145 BRONZE, Arvada, Colorado
1 article 0 photos 1 comment
great poem!

on Nov. 29 2010 at 1:11 am
RedpillBluepill, East Brunswick, New Jersey
0 articles 0 photos 6 comments
I wish I understood this. It seems like it's saying "don't mourn me, I'm nothing special" in the first two stanzas, but then by the third stanza idk what the message is supposed to be. Can anyone explain?

on Nov. 22 2010 at 1:19 pm
Dunkelheitstieg BRONZE, Baldwin, Florida
4 articles 0 photos 92 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The poet ranks far below the painter in the representation of visible things, and far below the musician in that of invisible things. Why does the eye see a thing more clearly in dreams than the imagination when awake?,"Leonardo da Vinci.

I have always loved this poem.

on Nov. 20 2010 at 7:34 pm
foreverme143 SILVER, Williamstown, New Jersey
6 articles 1 photo 6 comments
beautiful, but a little sad to think about

on Nov. 14 2010 at 9:24 pm
Taylor-pop SILVER, Mole Creek, Other
5 articles 0 photos 23 comments

Favorite Quote:
Real friends are like diamonds true and rare.
Fake friends are like autumn leaves found everywhere.

That was so beautiful... i enjoyed reading it.

Leann14 GOLD said...
on Nov. 10 2010 at 6:58 pm
Leann14 GOLD, DeGraff, Ohio
16 articles 4 photos 110 comments
unique. thought provoking. i love it

on Nov. 10 2010 at 3:40 pm
WinterFairy PLATINUM, Chicago, Illinois
45 articles 15 photos 111 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Don't dream it. Be it."
"Singing is praying twice, and dancing is singing with the body."
"Paper is more patient than man."
"Where you live shouldn't determine whether you live"

really interesting

mstweety012 said...
on Nov. 10 2010 at 12:55 pm
i love  this poem it is just how i feel

on Nov. 10 2010 at 8:18 am
silentvocal SILVER, Chicago, Illinois
5 articles 0 photos 44 comments

Favorite Quote:
Don't try to fix what isn't broken

I love how it keeps you thinking for ever, long after you've read it. And it really does quench that interest-it's just remarkable

Aeryka BRONZE said...
on Nov. 8 2010 at 3:02 pm
Aeryka BRONZE, San Antonio, Texas
3 articles 0 photos 7 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Armadillos lurk in your toaster" " Holy kitty-cow, hi!!!"

this is beautiful

on Oct. 28 2010 at 6:52 pm
beccaahhh PLATINUM, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
24 articles 0 photos 7 comments

wonderful poem,

great inspiration as well.

you are a great writer, and i love the emotion and creativity you used,

i havent read much like it.


on Oct. 27 2010 at 9:50 pm
nonasky427 BRONZE, Zebulon, North Carolina
1 article 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
Love Always

I love this.

on Oct. 26 2010 at 8:02 pm
MusicGirl101 BRONZE, Allison Park, Pennsylvania
1 article 0 photos 2 comments

Favorite Quote:
"If you feel as if you hit a wall and you aren't strong enough to break it down...take every little step to climb all the way to the top."

I love your style of writing...ur emotion is so open..and it's rlly creative :)

Redbull12 said...
on Oct. 19 2010 at 10:22 pm
I enjoyed the creativity, it's very thought provoking yet simplistic in its own way, well done. ;)

on Oct. 19 2010 at 4:23 pm
Dragonscribe BRONZE, West Lafayette, Indiana
4 articles 0 photos 303 comments

Favorite Quote:
"A Person's a Person no Matter how Small"
and
"A Rose by Any Other Name Would Smell as Sweet"
and
"God helps those who help themselves"

I love this! I'm going to have to read this over and over again before I truly appreciate and understand all of it. This is really amazing.