The Girl Who Held The Moon | Teen Ink

The Girl Who Held The Moon

June 7, 2014
By HudaZav SILVER, Toronto, Other
HudaZav SILVER, Toronto, Other
8 articles 6 photos 390 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Nothing is impossible; the word itself says 'I'm possible'!" -Audrey Hepburn


When she returns from the hospital
With a passive look on her face
And her lip clenched between her teeth
I don't ask her if it's bad news;
I just pull her into a tight hug

She doesn't spend her last few days
Sky diving or robbing a bank
Partying or confessing love
Instead, she brings me to the rooftop
In the midst of a humid summer night
The moon hangs over our heads
It is cradled by a constellation of stars
And sleeps with an eye open, watches over us
"Before I'm gone" she whispers, "I want to bring you the moon"
She's bringing her fingers up to it now
And pretends to hold it between her fingertips

And she is breathing in the thick, stale smell
Of cigars and dirt
She is letting the scent cling to her shirt, like a needy child
Until she knows it will not let go
And I ask her why
She tells me that it does not smell of perfume or roses
But it smells of memories and nostalgia
It smells of ginger tea and midnight tree climbs
It smells of home
A scent no department store
Can sum up in a cheap, glass bottle

She falls in and out of consciousness throughout the night
Eyes lighting up and fading out like lightning bugs
Her hair is wilting away, a perishing rose
And I want to gather each petal in my arms
And piece them back together
Before they turn to dust

Time goes by
She is tinier every time I see her
She looks like she has aged ten years in ten days
And as tears brim to the surface of her eyes
Like the taut bones of her cheeks
She keeps talking about the future
See, she loves to speak of the future
Of where she will live when she is married
And what kinds of flowers she will plant in her garden
And though she is a pile of distressed tears and tired limbs right now
She does not let that stop her from dreaming
She still tells me about the future like it's a matter-of-fact
She tells me about how we will travel to New York and LA together
And how one day, her child will have her eyes and her husband's smile
See, she is down to earth
Yet her feet never quite touch the ground

And I tell her about the future, too
Even when I notice that her eyes have fallen shut
And the shuddering of her slim, tree branch arms have stopped
I keep talking
I pretend she is awake for just a little longer;
The girl who held the moon



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This article has 18 comments.


on Mar. 28 2018 at 10:32 am
AsenathRose GOLD, Chesapeake Beach, Maryland
14 articles 0 photos 22 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Let me be that I am and seek not to alter me,"--Shakespeare

For the record, I'm that one awkwardly emotional person who clicked 'made me cry'

on Jul. 24 2015 at 10:20 am
TravelerenRoute GOLD, Ribera, New Mexico
13 articles 1 photo 65 comments

Favorite Quote:
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.<br /> Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.<br /> <br /> It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.<br /> We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,<br /> gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous?<br /> <br /> Actually, who are you not to be?<br /> You are a child of God.<br /> <br /> Your playing small does not serve the world.<br /> There is nothing enlightened about shrinking<br /> so that other people won&#039;t feel insecure around you.<br /> We are all meant to shine, as children do.<br /> <br /> We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.<br /> It is not just in some; it is in everyone.<br /> <br /> And, as we let our own light shine, we consciously give<br /> other people permission to do the same.<br /> As we are liberated from our fear,<br /> our presence automatically liberates others.&quot;<br /> Marianne Williamson

This is an incredible poem! It is beautiful in its imagery and creativity. It is powerful in its sadness yet can be related to. Wow!

on Aug. 4 2014 at 6:31 pm
EmilytheBelleofA. DIAMOND, Athens, Georgia
81 articles 5 photos 1486 comments

Favorite Quote:
To love is to be vulnerable; Triumph is born out of struggle; We notice shadows most when they stand alone in the midst of overwhelming light.

Your poem is amazingly written and very beautiful, as it was sad at the same time. Thank you for sharing this. You're a talented person.

Longlegs GOLD said...
on Aug. 4 2014 at 4:52 pm
Longlegs GOLD, Greeneville, Tennessee
16 articles 0 photos 84 comments
Wow! This is so awesome~creative and so beautiful. Great work!

on Jul. 22 2014 at 10:10 am
CosmoPhoenix PLATINUM, Kochi, Kerala, Other
28 articles 5 photos 31 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.&quot; - Nelson Mandela

What a great piece of art! This is magnificent! Honestly, I read the poem over and over many times. I still want to. All the best! Excellent job!

--Em-- GOLD said...
on Jul. 20 2014 at 9:00 pm
--Em-- GOLD, Grand Rapids, Michigan
15 articles 0 photos 32 comments
this is so sad, i love it. it was a little bit long for me, but you made it work. great job!

on Jul. 19 2014 at 1:05 am
CheesePie BRONZE, Princeton, New Jersey
1 article 8 photos 7 comments
It's AWESOME! It may be sad, but that's kind of what makes it beautifully awesome. Hopefully you become a writer one day cause once again, THIS IS AWESOME! :)

on Jul. 11 2014 at 11:59 am
Ariel_Fluffyy SILVER, Los Angeles, California
7 articles 0 photos 54 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;You May Encounter Many Defeats But You Must Not Be Defeated&quot; By- Dr. Maya Angelou

Like WOW! I am pretty much left speechless. This is just...WOW!

on Jul. 8 2014 at 12:39 pm
Sparrow01 SILVER, Appalachin, New York
8 articles 0 photos 30 comments
Wow, this poem is so full of emotion. My eyes got all watery by the end haha, great job keep writing :)

on Jun. 28 2014 at 6:05 pm
WinterRose76 SILVER, Ok., Florida
6 articles 6 photos 183 comments

Favorite Quote:
Arise and be all that you dream - Flyleaf

This is such a sad, sweet poem. It's beautifully written and conveys so much emotion. Nice work 5/5

lydia.w GOLD said...
on Jun. 26 2014 at 10:30 pm
lydia.w GOLD, Myerstown, Pennsylvania
11 articles 7 photos 20 comments

Favorite Quote:
I was always an unusual girl.<br /> My mother told me I had a chameleon soul, no moral compass pointing due north, no fixed personality; just an inner indecisiveness that was as wide and as wavering as the ocean...<br /> And if I said I didn&#039;t plan for it to turn out this way I&#039;d be lying...<br /> Because I was born to be the other woman.<br /> Who belonged to no one, who belonged to everyone.<br /> Who had nothing, who wanted everything, with a fire for every experience and an obsession for freedom that terrified me to the point that I couldn&#039;t even talk about it, and pushed me to a nomadic point of madness that both dazzled and dizzied me.

Oh my gosh I love this! I can picture everything

Hanban12 ELITE said...
on Jun. 23 2014 at 9:05 pm
Hanban12 ELITE, Lake Worth, Florida
133 articles 7 photos 631 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them.&quot;<br /> Henry David Thoreau<br /> <br /> &quot;I fell in love the way you fall asleep; slowly, and then all at once.&quot;<br /> John Green

I cannot believe how powerful and beautiful this poem is. It actually brought tears to my eyes, which hasn't happened in a while. I absolutely love your writing style, and, of course, your writing! This poem is so elegant and purposeful and profound and poignant... Keep it up, please! You're so talented.

on Jun. 23 2014 at 4:07 pm
HayatC. PLATINUM, Louisville, Kentucky
25 articles 0 photos 59 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one.&quot;

This gave me goosebumps. Wow! You're an extraordinary writer, I really enjoyed reading this :)

on Jun. 22 2014 at 10:52 pm
SabrinaFaire SILVER, Odenville, Alabama
5 articles 0 photos 32 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;You aren&#039;t going to impose the patriarchal paradigm on ME.&quot; Alaska Young

This is so beautiful! I love how intricate it is.

on Jun. 22 2014 at 6:33 pm
Cam_Dale BRONZE, Plainview, Texas
3 articles 9 photos 10 comments
That was AMAZING. It's like something teachers require their students to analyze from a textbook (but in a good way). #speechless

on Jun. 21 2014 at 4:49 pm
Luv4Ever SILVER, Jacksonville, Florida
7 articles 0 photos 199 comments

Favorite Quote:
A miracle is just another name for hard work<br /> -Minho in &quot;To The Beautiful You&quot;

I remember suggesting a title for this, it's still as beautiful since the last time I read it

HudaZav SILVER said...
on Jun. 13 2014 at 9:34 am
HudaZav SILVER, Toronto, Other
8 articles 6 photos 390 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Nothing is impossible; the word itself says &#039;I&#039;m possible&#039;!&quot; -Audrey Hepburn

Wow thank you so much, your comment really made my day =)

JRaye PLATINUM said...
on Jun. 12 2014 at 8:44 pm
JRaye PLATINUM, Dorr, Michigan
43 articles 10 photos 523 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;If you build your house far enough away from Trouble, then Trouble will never find you.&quot;<br /> <br /> &quot;Have you ever looked fear in the face and said, &#039;I just don&#039;t care.&#039;?&quot;

Oh my God...this... There are no words. This is a AMAZING love poem, touched me in every way... The second stanza was my favorite :) It reminded me of The Fault In Our Stars (which I mean in the absolute BEST way!) Powerful, Beautiful stuff.