All I Need Is a Friend | Teen Ink

All I Need Is a Friend MAG

January 28, 2009
By Ryan Moran BRONZE, Mt. Prospect, Illinois
Ryan Moran BRONZE, Mt. Prospect, Illinois
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

Books fill up my room.
Not baseball cards,
or pictures of girls,
or basketballs.
Maybe a blown up picture of …
… Pam Anderson might help.

Black-framed glasses
and a white,
pale,
lanky
body.
I should start working out.

At least I can read.
I read four books a day last summer.
The librarian,
80-year-old Mrs. Woodsworth,
she knows my middle name.
If only I had a real friend.
I am sick of seeing her old,
bony,
pale body.
Although it resembles mine.

The kids at school laugh.
Is it the way I dress?
Lacoste,
Ralph Lauren,
La Tigre.
I’ve tried every designer out there.
Staying in the house really saves me money.
My stupid rich parents give me $50 a week for lunch.
$50 times 36 weeks …
what is that?
$1,000,
$2,000,
$10,000?
I should probably know.
Straight A’s 12 years in a row
and counting.

With all of this,
or none of this –
it depends how you look at it –
all I need is a friend.



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This article has 1547 comments.


lovemaria said...
on Sep. 18 2017 at 1:45 pm
lovemaria, Toledo, Ohio
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment
omg i love it is soo cute

on May. 25 2017 at 4:47 pm
Just.Another.Girl SILVER, West Plains, Missouri
5 articles 2 photos 10 comments

Favorite Quote:
Why fit in when you were born to stand out? -Dr.Seuss

Great poem! I can relate to the body image and reading many MANY books a day! I think that if we ever meet we could be very good friends! That is of course if we could put down our books for long enough! :) Keep up the great writing!

on Apr. 26 2017 at 7:39 am
Labyrinthescaper PLATINUM, Harare, Other
23 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
Preach to broken hearts and you will never lack an audience

Wow,I love this so much and it's relateable. Beautiful writing :)

on Nov. 23 2016 at 3:53 pm
socialkaysualty PLATINUM, Dover, Delaware
25 articles 0 photos 37 comments

Favorite Quote:
Let us go then, you and I, <br /> When the evening is spread out against the sky <br /> Like a patient etherized upon a table; <br /> Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets, <br /> The muttering retreats <br /> Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels <br /> And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells: <br /> Streets that follow like a tedious argument <br /> Of insidious intent <br /> To lead you to an overwhelming question ... <br /> Oh, do not ask, &ldquo;What is it?&rdquo; <br /> Let us go and make our visit. <br /> <br /> In the room the women come and go <br /> Talking of Michelangelo. <br /> <br /> The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes, <br /> The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes, <br /> Licked its tongue into the corners of the evening, <br /> Lingered upon the pools that stand in drains, <br /> Let fall upon its back the soot that falls from chimneys, <br /> Slipped by the terrace, made a sudden leap, <br /> And seeing that it was a soft October night, <br /> Curled once about the house, and fell asleep. <br /> <br /> And indeed there will be time <br /> For the yellow smoke that slides along the street, <br /> Rubbing its back upon the window-panes; <br /> There will be time, there will be time <br /> To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet; <br /> There will be time to murder and create, <br /> And time for all the works and days of hands <br /> That lift and drop a question on your plate; <br /> Time for you and time for me, <br /> And time yet for a hundred indecisions, <br /> And for a hundred visions and revisions, <br /> Before the taking of a toast and tea. <br /> <br /> In the room the women come and go <br /> Talking of Michelangelo. <br /> <br /> And indeed there will be time <br /> To wonder, &ldquo;Do I dare?&rdquo; and, &ldquo;Do I dare?&rdquo; <br /> Time to turn back and descend the stair, <br /> With a bald spot in the middle of my hair &mdash; <br /> (They will say: &ldquo;How his hair is growing thin!&rdquo;) <br /> My morning coat, my collar mounting firmly to the chin, <br /> My necktie rich and modest, but asserted by a simple pin &mdash; <br /> (They will say: &ldquo;But how his arms and legs are thin!&rdquo;) <br /> Do I dare <br /> Disturb the universe? <br /> In a minute there is time <br /> For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse. <br /> <br /> For I have known them all already, known them all: <br /> Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons, <br /> I have measured out my life with coffee spoons; <br /> I know the voices dying with a dying fall <br /> Beneath the music from a farther room. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> So how should I presume? <br /> <br /> And I have known the eyes already, known them all&mdash; <br /> The eyes that fix you in a formulated phrase, <br /> And when I am formulated, sprawling on a pin, <br /> When I am pinned and wriggling on the wall, <br /> Then how should I begin <br /> To spit out all the butt-ends of my days and ways? <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> And how should I presume? <br /> <br /> And I have known the arms already, known them all&mdash; <br /> Arms that are braceleted and white and bare <br /> (But in the lamplight, downed with light brown hair!) <br /> Is it perfume from a dress <br /> That makes me so digress? <br /> Arms that lie along a table, or wrap about a shawl. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> And should I then presume? <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> And how should I begin? <br /> <br /> Shall I say, I have gone at dusk through narrow streets <br /> And watched the smoke that rises from the pipes <br /> Of lonely men in shirt-sleeves, leaning out of windows? ... <br /> <br /> I should have been a pair of ragged claws <br /> Scuttling across the floors of silent seas. <br /> <br /> And the afternoon, the evening, sleeps so peacefully! <br /> Smoothed by long fingers, <br /> Asleep ... tired ... or it malingers, <br /> Stretched on the floor, here beside you and me. <br /> Should I, after tea and cakes and ices, <br /> Have the strength to force the moment to its crisis? <br /> But though I have wept and fasted, wept and prayed, <br /> Though I have seen my head (grown slightly bald) brought in upon a platter, <br /> I am no prophet &mdash; and here&rsquo;s no great matter; <br /> I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker, <br /> And I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker, <br /> And in short, I was afraid. <br /> <br /> And would it have been worth it, after all, <br /> After the cups, the marmalade, the tea, <br /> Among the porcelain, among some talk of you and me, <br /> Would it have been worth while, <br /> To have bitten off the matter with a smile, <br /> To have squeezed the universe into a ball <br /> To roll it towards some overwhelming question, <br /> To say: &ldquo;I am Lazarus, come from the dead, <br /> Come back to tell you all, I shall tell you all&rdquo;&mdash; <br /> If one, settling a pillow by her head <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Should say: &ldquo;That is not what I meant at all; <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> That is not it, at all.&rdquo; <br /> <br /> And would it have been worth it, after all, <br /> Would it have been worth while, <br /> After the sunsets and the dooryards and the sprinkled streets, <br /> After the novels, after the teacups, after the skirts that trail along the floor&mdash; <br /> And this, and so much more?&mdash; <br /> It is impossible to say just what I mean! <br /> But as if a magic lantern threw the nerves in patterns on a screen: <br /> Would it have been worth while <br /> If one, settling a pillow or throwing off a shawl, <br /> And turning toward the window, should say: <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> &ldquo;That is not it at all, <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> That is not what I meant, at all.&rdquo; <br /> <br /> No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be; <br /> Am an attendant lord, one that will do <br /> To swell a progress, start a scene or two, <br /> Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool, <br /> Deferential, glad to be of use, <br /> Politic, cautious, and meticulous; <br /> Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse; <br /> At times, indeed, almost ridiculous&mdash; <br /> Almost, at times, the Fool. <br /> <br /> I grow old ... I grow old ... <br /> I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled. <br /> <br /> Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach? <br /> I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach. <br /> I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. <br /> <br /> I do not think that they will sing to me. <br /> <br /> I have seen them riding seaward on the waves <br /> Combing the white hair of the waves blown back <br /> When the wind blows the water white and black. <br /> We have lingered in the chambers of the sea <br /> By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown <br /> Till human voices wake us, and we drown.

this isn't a competition sweetie.

on Sep. 15 2016 at 6:16 pm
KittyKat1201 SILVER, Hoschton, Georgia
5 articles 0 photos 15 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Live life like you own it&quot;

Wow hay qua vay!!!! Em thiet la thich thu viet nay cua Anh Ryan do nha! ♥♥♥

on Aug. 11 2016 at 12:34 pm
pineappler03 SILVER, Waterford, Connecticut
6 articles 1 photo 61 comments
This is very relatable. I like that I can understand the feelings presented in the poem. Good job!

on Jun. 9 2016 at 8:30 pm
literallyliterary BRONZE, Lilburn, Georgia
1 article 0 photos 2 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;The roof is not my son... but I will raise it.&quot;

Wow, this is great! This is actually really helpful, I can really relate to this and its nice too feel like someone else knows what you're dealing with. Thanks for this.

on May. 9 2016 at 7:58 pm
radicalchickster DIAMOND, Jericho, New York
52 articles 0 photos 14 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Never, ever, ever give up.&quot;

it could use more work, but it's relatable. you wanted honest criticism. i hope you don't get offended by that. :(

Netprince16 said...
on May. 2 2016 at 9:19 am
i love it it inspired me

on Apr. 22 2016 at 8:56 pm
janesnow BRONZE, Sausalito, California
2 articles 0 photos 4 comments
oh yeah? i read five books a day last summer! hot wheels, beat that!

Tkenns BRONZE said...
on Apr. 21 2016 at 11:03 pm
Tkenns BRONZE, Des Moines, Iowa
2 articles 0 photos 25 comments
Hey, I know this can get annoying but if anyone had time to glance at my work that'd be great. I just have three short poems, but I might do more if I get enough likes. Thanks for the help! I you comment some criticism or what you like or something then I'll do the same for you!

on Apr. 16 2016 at 10:34 am
itsrainingcats GOLD, East Hampton, Connecticut
16 articles 0 photos 25 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Those who mind don&#039;t matter, and those who matter don&#039;t mind.&quot; -Dr. Suess

Huh, this is interesting and really fun to read! Relatable.

on Apr. 12 2016 at 5:02 pm
ambivalent SILVER, West Bend, Wisconsin
7 articles 0 photos 180 comments

Favorite Quote:
everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. the worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt. [sylvia plath]

so glad i stumbled across this poem... love it.

on Mar. 20 2016 at 3:05 am
Ilse_Spiro GOLD, Palmer, Alaska
16 articles 3 photos 9 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Do you know the difference between an error and a mistake? Anyone can make an error, but that error doesn&#039;t become a mistake until they refuse to correct it.&quot;<br /> -Grand Admiral Thrawn<br /> Heir to the Empire, by Timothy Zhan.

I know how you feel, I went through the same thing for several years. You are an amazing poet!

on Mar. 16 2016 at 10:15 am
quillhoof BRONZE, Averill Park, New York
2 articles 0 photos 1 comment
You can now tag other users by using "@".i love it

on Mar. 7 2016 at 11:09 am
LittleRedDeliriousPrince SILVER, Parma Heights, Ohio
7 articles 0 photos 100 comments
Amazing...

on Feb. 27 2016 at 6:24 pm
Kara_case BRONZE, Reno, Nevada
3 articles 0 photos 2 comments
I love this one so much. I'll be your friend haha

on Feb. 11 2016 at 7:16 pm
Poetry101 BRONZE, Faith, South Dakota
3 articles 0 photos 30 comments

Favorite Quote:
You don&#039;t need anybody to tell you who you are or what you are. You are what you are !<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ~John Lennon

You have so much talent keep making more poems as good as this one.

Zoenikky said...
on Feb. 11 2016 at 1:49 pm
Zoenikky, Masvingo, Other
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment
really great piece

WRITERQ BRONZE said...
on Jan. 2 2016 at 9:55 pm
WRITERQ BRONZE, Altamont, New York
1 article 0 photos 11 comments

Favorite Quote:
Every dreams a possibility

Incredible work; Although it made me cry and sadly I can totally relate.