Ripple Affect: Do You See Your Own Distorted Reflection? | Teen Ink

Ripple Affect: Do You See Your Own Distorted Reflection?

March 27, 2013
By Jade.I.Am ELITE, Fishers, Indiana
Jade.I.Am ELITE, Fishers, Indiana
214 articles 14 photos 1159 comments

Favorite Quote:
“If you're losing your soul and you know it, then you've still got a soul left to lose”
― Charles Bukowski


She walked along the sea, tossing pebbles without thought.
He was far in the distance, but closing fast, an enlarging dot.


"Why do you throw them as you do?" He asked the girl at last.
She turned to eye him warily, and murmured, "Why worry about the past?"


He stood shaking in anger, and slowly said, "Don't you know?"
Well now the girl was confused and scared, and turned to go.


He stopped her with a look and said, "Each pebble has an affect."
She didn't know what he meant to say, no truth she could collect.


"You throw stones as if they make no ripples, as if each single one
does not run into the other, changing shape before the first has begun."


The girl stared at the rock in her hand, then chucked it to the waves.
"What's a ripple," she said, "to so dictate how I behave?"


The boy pointed to the surface of the glassy water, now marred as it was.
Through the distortion, she could see her face and smiled because.


"You smile," he cried, "as you see only your face. See what I see."
And he pointed to the side, where the waves told a different story.


She saw a child, a child's face, dark and thin, and eyes that cried.
"What happened?" She gasped. He said, "Because of you he died."


She now saw multiple faces in the sea, each one with tear-stained eyes.
And she wondered how she’d been blind before, believed such pretty lies.


“I want to change!” she cried. “How do I save them?” But the boy had gone.
And she was left to face herself, and the sea she now laid her frightful eyes upon.


The water had calmed, and the surface was once more smooth, perfect.
The faces had faded into one big mirror, reflecting her own, a terrible verdict.


She knew how she had killed them and how she was but a tiny pebble in a vast sea.
That her own careless waste had taken food from the mouths of the hungry.


And that even her inaction was a ripple, a bullet, a single act that might have saved.
She wondered how it seemed a small thing to not care, yet killed and depraved.


The author's comments:
It's easy to go about our lives, comfortable, forgetting there's others out there who suffer because of our prosperity. Even doing nothing has an affect on the life of a starving child.

Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 14 comments.


on May. 16 2013 at 9:24 am
Jade.I.Am ELITE, Fishers, Indiana
214 articles 14 photos 1159 comments

Favorite Quote:
“If you're losing your soul and you know it, then you've still got a soul left to lose”
― Charles Bukowski

Just did, and thanks!

on May. 15 2013 at 6:37 pm
freeperson DIAMOND, Burlington, Vermont
59 articles 0 photos 229 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Have you seen the way he looks at you, the way his expression softens and his eyes are like stars...?" - Ara Weston

This is awesome!!!!! I love this and I would really like you to read some of my work if you want to. :)

on Apr. 13 2013 at 7:41 pm
Jade.I.Am ELITE, Fishers, Indiana
214 articles 14 photos 1159 comments

Favorite Quote:
“If you're losing your soul and you know it, then you've still got a soul left to lose”
― Charles Bukowski

Lol, thanks, I didn't even notice XD

on Apr. 12 2013 at 9:59 pm
TaylorWintry DIAMOND, Carrollton, Texas
72 articles 0 photos 860 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Never fear shadows. They simply mean there's a light shining somewhere nearby." - Unknown

W  O  W. Jade, this is perfect. No other words can describe it... Again, since it's a rhyming poem, I couldn't help but read it aloud, and as I chanted each word, tears licked at my own mascara-covered eyes. Wow. Just wow. Saphira's right... There truly are not words suitable to describe this. Why on earth is this not in the magazine?!... BTW, it's "effect," not "affect." ;) Just figured I'd tell you. Amazing job. Amazing.

on Apr. 2 2013 at 12:30 pm
SaphiraBrightscales DIAMOND, Islamabad, Other
75 articles 16 photos 1136 comments

Favorite Quote:
I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
- Maya Angelou
When i was little/I used to point a chubby finger toward the dark sky/And ask my father/why some stars moved and others didn’t/He would laugh and explain that some were airplanes/I still wish on them today ~ Laugh-It-Out
The feathers of a crow are black/The ink of my pen is blacker/The pain of my heart is blackest~ Mckay
If love produced a blossom/I’d take it in my palm/What a blessing, the bright color!/How soothing, such a balm!/I’d keep a petal for my own/The rest, drop from my hands/For such a flower would multiply/And populate the lands~ thesilentraven
And I began to rival legends/Long entombed before my birth./But for all my much envied fame/The lust for more would not abate./The plaques and prizes with my name/Will, like all things, disintegrate. ~ TheEpic95 now known as Helena_Noel

My dear RarelyJaded,, one can't help but be that kind of person around awesome people like you... And I'm just overwhelmed with the thought that someone loves talking to me so much! :D

on Apr. 2 2013 at 3:12 am
Jade.I.Am ELITE, Fishers, Indiana
214 articles 14 photos 1159 comments

Favorite Quote:
“If you're losing your soul and you know it, then you've still got a soul left to lose”
― Charles Bukowski

Aww, Saphira thank you so much! You're amazing as well. Talking to you is always so refreshing, thanks for being such a nice person :P

on Apr. 2 2013 at 2:53 am
SaphiraBrightscales DIAMOND, Islamabad, Other
75 articles 16 photos 1136 comments

Favorite Quote:
I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
- Maya Angelou
When i was little/I used to point a chubby finger toward the dark sky/And ask my father/why some stars moved and others didn’t/He would laugh and explain that some were airplanes/I still wish on them today ~ Laugh-It-Out
The feathers of a crow are black/The ink of my pen is blacker/The pain of my heart is blackest~ Mckay
If love produced a blossom/I’d take it in my palm/What a blessing, the bright color!/How soothing, such a balm!/I’d keep a petal for my own/The rest, drop from my hands/For such a flower would multiply/And populate the lands~ thesilentraven
And I began to rival legends/Long entombed before my birth./But for all my much envied fame/The lust for more would not abate./The plaques and prizes with my name/Will, like all things, disintegrate. ~ TheEpic95 now known as Helena_Noel

I read this as soon as it got posted but didn't know how to possibly comment and waited for some words - good words- to come to me... And see I'm still at a loss.  This is amazing. The notion you described with words ever so beautiful and a rhythm ever so attractive, it was astounding. Yes, indeed we have here a poet whose thoughts wander not only to places ours have too but to places, such wonderful places, that we envy her. :P  Well, I'd say I completely agree,,, but you can only ever do so much,,.. in the end it comes down to the fact that you feel completely alone in your little endeavours and it seems as if everyone else is just being like those careless reckless beings...

on Apr. 1 2013 at 7:32 pm
Jade.I.Am ELITE, Fishers, Indiana
214 articles 14 photos 1159 comments

Favorite Quote:
“If you're losing your soul and you know it, then you've still got a soul left to lose”
― Charles Bukowski

Thank you! I'm glad you get it :P A lot of my poems are metaphorical, not many people understand them :)

on Apr. 1 2013 at 7:19 pm
LexusMarie PLATINUM, Las Cruces, New Mexico
27 articles 0 photos 423 comments

Favorite Quote:
The more control you have over yourself, the less control others have over you.

Hi! This is really wonderful. When I first started reading this I wasn't sure where it was going. I just assumed it was going to have a simple meaning, but I regret that. This is so, so powerful and honestly a really great read. More people should have a look at this. I love this very much. Small things can cause something so much larger..

on Apr. 1 2013 at 5:45 pm
Jade.I.Am ELITE, Fishers, Indiana
214 articles 14 photos 1159 comments

Favorite Quote:
“If you're losing your soul and you know it, then you've still got a soul left to lose”
― Charles Bukowski

*everyone* whoops.....lol

on Apr. 1 2013 at 5:38 pm
Jade.I.Am ELITE, Fishers, Indiana
214 articles 14 photos 1159 comments

Favorite Quote:
“If you're losing your soul and you know it, then you've still got a soul left to lose”
― Charles Bukowski

Of course :) you can't save anyone. The only thing you can do is try.

on Apr. 1 2013 at 4:11 pm
Doctorbug BRONZE, Washington Island, Wisconsin
1 article 0 photos 29 comments

Favorite Quote:
"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You."` Isaiah 26:3

Ah, I see...well in that case isn't it better to not worry about it and just do your best?

on Apr. 1 2013 at 3:46 pm
Jade.I.Am ELITE, Fishers, Indiana
214 articles 14 photos 1159 comments

Favorite Quote:
“If you're losing your soul and you know it, then you've still got a soul left to lose”
― Charles Bukowski

The whole point is that a small act, even the act of doing nothing, inadvertently kills somebody who needed your help. Oh and don't worry I appreciate the honesty :)

on Apr. 1 2013 at 3:04 pm
Doctorbug BRONZE, Washington Island, Wisconsin
1 article 0 photos 29 comments

Favorite Quote:
"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You."` Isaiah 26:3

Thought provoking! I was a little confused as to how she killed the other people though. Makes me wonder how many pebbles I've thrown though :( Sometimes my comments, if not inteded to be harsh, can come across that way in my effort to be truthful.