River Song | Teen Ink

River Song

December 23, 2022
By JamesW PLATINUM, Minneapolis, Minnesota
JamesW PLATINUM, Minneapolis, Minnesota
22 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Favorite Quote:
“One day I will find the right words, and they will be simple.” - Jack Kerouac


Voyageur, 

But no matter how far I travel, 

I can’t escape these concrete clouds

Paling the sky above my head

With the promise of rain.

Flow and repeat 

As I carry forward, 

I stand still, 

My paddle struggles to take ahold 

Of the currents. 


I follow rivers, 

Winding and criss-crossing, 

Bubbling and murmuring, 

But never doubling back.

 

Talk is cheap

But silence is golden, 

In silence I find my war 

And my peace. 

What happens when 

An unstoppable force 

Meets an immovable mass? 

The force pushes and heaves 

The mass remains

Until both are too worn to continue 


I follow rivers, 

Winding and cross-crossing, 

Bubbling and murmuring, 

But never doubling back.


Treading water

Keeps me afloat and steady 

I’ll never drown 

But the shore looks so far away 

I could never stop my mind  

Like I could never stop breathing

But it hurts so much more  

To fight than to just exist 


I follow rivers, 

Winding and cross-crossing, 

Bubbling and murmuring, 

But never doubling back.


I’ll know when I’m 

At the end of the journey, 

The sky opens up 

And swallows the land, 

And the only thing I can see for miles 

Is open ocean and cloudy sky

No longer a storm siren

In my mind.


The author's comments:

I have suffered from anxiety for my entire life and my experiences went directly into the creation of this poem. Just like a river, where the bends and curves make it impossible to see the end, it can often feel like I will never recover. It took me a long time to realize that although I will never be completely rid of my fear, I can develop ways to recognize and work through it in a healthy way, which is represented by the final stanza (cloudy sky - no longer a storm siren in my mind). I hope this piece will help other teenagers who are struggling feel seen, and that they understand that they are not alone. 


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