My Mercy and Grace | Teen Ink

My Mercy and Grace MAG

January 11, 2009
By Natalie Rex BRONZE, Windermere, Florida
Natalie Rex BRONZE, Windermere, Florida
3 articles 2 photos 0 comments

Dead (After Lowell)
In a gray corner of upper northwest
The mute circular headstones stand
In the old cemetery of the dead
of Fort Stevens
The decayed, rotted, fishbone ribcages
Nourishing bricked over soil
As the sentries, too faithful by decades
Still guard the road to the filled marsh
Where the glass temple dedicated to
Transcience, celebrity, ruin and madness
Stands, on the other side of Penn,
The great parade ground of the republic
From Pope’s mausoleum, where rests,
Orphaned in history, St. Gauden’s plaster
Nearby the pond stagnates
And overgrown tourists feed overgrown ­goldfish
Who eat, ****, fin and expire
Under the watchful eye of the bronze
horseman,
Grant, rising upon his marble bubble
by Douglas Graebner, Bethesda, MD
To the Still Clock on My Wall
Trees, tall, slim, crowded in some places
In front of you.
Wander blind into the thickets
Trails become fuzzy thoughts.
Were they ever there?
No, I don’t think so.

Ticks cling to your pants.
You’re their hopes,
Their dreams,
Their very reason for existence.
Though you may not know they’re there
Until some time after.

Ah, and now you’re lost.
No one for help.
No sun to see.
Only trees,
Tall, slim, and crowded in some places.
And the ticks,
Who are still ascending your legs.

You’re thirsty.
The water from the lakes and streams
could easily ruin your stomach.
Drink the water.
Drink the water, and you’ll know for days,
What slithered down your throat.
Agonizing cramps will refuse to leave
your gut.
You’ll know your mistake.

The air is stale.
Where do you go?
You’re lost, remember?
The wind shifts,
You see trees and then smoke.
Still no one for help.
Still no sun for light.

A sharp pain from your stomach.
You collapse.
The ticks are now latched tightly to your skin
With their heads nestled.
by Chalmus Davenport, Humboldt, TN

My Mercy and Grace
When the world drowns you out
And you blend into the chaos
When who you used to be
Is buried under the rubble of confusion
I will hold you close
And never let you fall
Your greatest fears will disappear
And only love will remain
I will cast your worries to the ends of the earth
And relinquish the grasp
Of the world’s chains from around your wrists
You are no longer a slave
No longer a servant
To sin
But rather free in my arms
Free in who I am
Let my love rush over you
In a cascade of comfort
Washing away your anxiety
And easing your strife
Erase all your memories of terror
And doubt
The repeat of lies that have been ingrained in your being
I will etch out
And fill the gaping holes with my mercy and grace



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This article has 5 comments.


Chelsea2468 said...
on Apr. 2 2012 at 11:59 am
Chelsea2468, Bradenton, Florida
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
"Everything Happens for a reason"

I thought this was very good! I didn't see anything you needed to improve on!

on Sep. 7 2010 at 10:38 am
KingReject SILVER, Gueydan, Louisiana
9 articles 0 photos 24 comments
Awesome, i'm sitting here in absolute awe at the sight of how far you went with this.  Definately five stars.

Cady_ PLATINUM said...
on Nov. 25 2009 at 3:21 pm
Cady_ PLATINUM, Godley, Texas
25 articles 5 photos 32 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Never judge a book by its cover.", and "When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself." "Cherish your life." "Love equals eternity."

Very touching and great job.... Thanks for writting this and write more....Five stars

on Nov. 4 2009 at 2:51 pm
AbbotRabbit GOLD, Abolana, District Of Columbia
11 articles 0 photos 1028 comments

Favorite Quote:
This poem has great flow and insight.
I really enjoyed it.
Lovely poem darling =]
-Please check out the works that I have posted on here it would be highly appreciated and I think you would greatly enjoy them, Thankk youz-
XxIll tell you Im an orphan after you meet myy familyXx

Great meaning and insight. I loved it.

Beautiful poem darling=]

-Please check out my poems that I have posted it would be greatly apreciated.

on Sep. 16 2009 at 4:40 pm
CandieApple PLATINUM, Hartford, Wisconsin
29 articles 0 photos 90 comments

Favorite Quote:
The world is a stage, and we are merely players- Shakespeare (at least it goes something like that!!)

Wow--this kind of inspired me!