-ish. | Teen Ink

-ish. MAG

November 19, 2014
By Maya Caulfield GOLD, Boulder, Colorado
Maya Caulfield GOLD, Boulder, Colorado
13 articles 1 photo 1 comment

When I grew up
and washed the grass stains from my knees
I saw the world had changed, had divided
in two.
there were boys
and there were girls.
and there was no in-between,
nothing for the mess of human limbs
that were pieces of each,
so I told myself I was a girl
made of flesh and blood and dollar-store
lip gloss,
and I gave myself away to boys with half-crooked smiles and
paint-streaked hair
and said this is love
and then, in the summer of Steinbeck
and Salinger, I met ish.
and ish was beautiful.
she had hands that could create the cosmos
and a mouth that was at once a cigarette burn and a sign for nothing
but I loved her eyes most of all.
because when I looked into her eyes
I saw the sinless skies that reminded me
of a childhood spent staring at clouds
the dead, neon-soaked jellyfish that I saw
on the beach every morning walking
home from school
and the water that I had loved, even as
it filled my lungs.
and surrounded by a holy mess of indigo
ultramarine
cyan
and cobalt,
I no longer felt at a loss as to why I felt blue.



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This article has 5 comments.


on Feb. 27 2016 at 12:36 pm
ItsTimeToBegin PLATINUM, Lexington, Massachusetts
29 articles 0 photos 49 comments
I cried reading this. I don't know, it's just so original and perfect.

on Sep. 3 2015 at 3:18 pm
vamika_s PLATINUM, Gaborone, Other
39 articles 0 photos 30 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Colour my life with the chaos of trouble"

God, this is gorgeous.

on Jun. 19 2015 at 4:01 am
Maya Caulfield GOLD, Boulder, Colorado
13 articles 1 photo 1 comment
Thank you!

on Jun. 12 2015 at 12:15 pm
Brian110 SILVER, Jonesport, Maine
8 articles 1 photo 79 comments

Favorite Quote:
if life gives you lemons..... squeeze them back in life's eyes!

that was deep. And amazingly written too. I enjoyed this piece very much.

on Jan. 16 2015 at 1:33 pm
author122130 BRONZE, Rio Rico, Arizona
2 articles 0 photos 4 comments

Favorite Quote:
The worst risk taking is not taking one

Great poem. I truly love it