When I am Dead | Teen Ink

When I am Dead MAG

January 21, 2009
By HannahW BRONZE, West Des Moines, Iowa
HannahW BRONZE, West Des Moines, Iowa
1 article 0 photos 2 comments

When I am dead, my dearest, don’t stick my bones
together with Scotch tape. Do not try to fit them
underneath a frame. Use them, one by one,
as a weapon, a gavel. My bones,
they can be good back scratchers, honey mixers,
and hands of clocks.

You can toss them across space
and see how far they’ll glide until another hand
slips across it. When I am dead, dearest,
thread my bones to the top of a mountain.

The next time you arrive at a glass sea,
spill it boldly. Spell your life in two parts,
watch them float until they descend
like a weight down into that container.



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This article has 406 comments.


catsarecute said...
on Dec. 17 2019 at 12:42 pm
catsarecute, Oiuytre, Maine
0 articles 0 photos 2 comments
good poet

Grasso BRONZE said...
on Nov. 17 2017 at 1:54 am
Grasso BRONZE, New Delhi, Other
3 articles 0 photos 2 comments

Favorite Quote:
Nothing hurts without your consent.

I loved the way you asked for the usage of the dead bones in such strange ways, very unique. I wonder if I were to oblige, would I mix honey with em?

on May. 4 2016 at 11:22 am
Skatergirl152 BRONZE, New Kent, Virginia
2 articles 0 photos 6 comments

Favorite Quote:
The happiest people don't always have the best of of everything, they just make the best of everything!!

i love what you said it's so true

on Dec. 29 2015 at 9:43 pm
Eric.X PLATINUM, Mason, Ohio
24 articles 53 photos 8 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot from striking." - William B. Yeats

Intriguing, morbid, and fascinating, all at the same time. Good job!

on Nov. 5 2015 at 8:37 am
KatariOsborne BRONZE, White Castle, Louisiana
3 articles 0 photos 2 comments
Your poem attracts my attention in a way because I’m a person that deals with death all the time, at my family’s funeral home. I just loved the way you used, “Use them, one by one, as a weapon, a gavel. My bones, they can be good back scratchers, honey mixers, And hands of clocks,” to show imagery and simile about the hands on a clock and a good back scratcher. It gives me an idea of you as a author trying to show that don’t just bury me, use me to an advantage.

MADDO SILVER said...
on Oct. 28 2015 at 12:47 am
MADDO SILVER, MUMBAI, Other
7 articles 0 photos 37 comments
Its indeed beautiful poem... i loved it... good job !!!

on Mar. 19 2015 at 6:22 am
Iamwhoiam17 GOLD, Lake City Fl, Florida
10 articles 0 photos 48 comments

Favorite Quote:
Just be yourself,if you are happy that's all that matter's.

I really love the way it was written! :) Great job! can you check out some of my poems,please

on Dec. 19 2014 at 6:20 pm
AprilNicoleJones BRONZE, New Castle, Indiana
4 articles 0 photos 39 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I write only because
there is a voice within me
that will not be still."
~ SYLVIA PLATH

(MY FORMER ACCOUNTS: Icantwrite & Punk.Snowflake)
Published poems from my former accounts:
- FRAIL HOPE (Icantwrite)
- YOURSELF (Punk.Snowflake)

Nice...morbid, but also charming in a way.

Jocelin BRONZE said...
on Dec. 17 2014 at 10:56 am
Jocelin BRONZE, Las Vegas, Nevada
2 articles 0 photos 3 comments

Favorite Quote:
"This is the way the world ends. Not with a Bang, but a whimper." - T.S Eliot.

nice dude nice =D

on Nov. 21 2014 at 3:52 pm
WindRunner GOLD, Troy, Michigan
11 articles 0 photos 44 comments

Favorite Quote:
For those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will fly on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

A little scary. I know I dont want anyone useing my bones as back-scratchers!  

on Oct. 13 2014 at 11:07 am
gaabbbeeee_ BRONZE, Las Vegas, Nevada
4 articles 0 photos 5 comments
GOod job this is great!  

on Jul. 11 2014 at 3:39 pm
Theraforever PLATINUM, Dubuque, Iowa
20 articles 0 photos 16 comments

Favorite Quote:
And still I rise.

I love this! Its fun, yet serious and just what anyone wants to make of it. Overall its creative and oviously a peice formed by a creative and phenomanal writer. If you have any spare time I would cherish any peice of advice you could give me. Dont hesitate to email, Theraforever@gmail.com. - Thera

HudaZav SILVER said...
on Apr. 21 2014 at 9:12 pm
HudaZav SILVER, Toronto, Other
8 articles 6 photos 390 comments

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

I read this poem over and over. Wow you are truly talented. Great piece!!

Blynn SILVER said...
on Dec. 3 2013 at 12:50 pm
Blynn SILVER, Waco, Texas
9 articles 0 photos 97 comments
I really love this. Beautiful job

dinks PLATINUM said...
on Nov. 18 2013 at 8:27 pm
dinks PLATINUM, Hinsdale, Illinois
28 articles 0 photos 80 comments

Favorite Quote:
"and kisses are a better faith than freedom"

Obsessed with this poem! Great job!

on Oct. 6 2013 at 5:46 pm
MeganLaChance SILVER, Wells, Maine
8 articles 0 photos 17 comments

Favorite Quote:
To be yourself in a world filled with people who want to change you is the worlds greatest accomplishment.

I think this is a beautiful poem. It has a lot of feeling and heart. If all your work is like this then you are a very, very great writer.

on Aug. 7 2013 at 11:06 am
love.writing BRONZE, St. Clair Shores, Michigan
4 articles 0 photos 37 comments
This was really amazing!  I loved the eerie feel to it!

on Jul. 8 2013 at 11:17 pm
thezebrasgray PLATINUM, Taylorsville, Utah
46 articles 0 photos 231 comments
That was gorgeous and dripping with originality. Spectacular!

on Oct. 31 2012 at 5:13 pm
ChobaniLuvinPenguin PLATINUM, Brooklyn, New York
29 articles 0 photos 85 comments

Favorite Quote:
"What makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well."
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

WOW!!!! I am truly speechless... That was amazing!!!! So beautiful! And the eerie tone made it more captivating and memorable! You are soooooo good! I'll be sure to check out more of your work!

on Oct. 31 2012 at 5:13 pm
ChobaniLuvinPenguin PLATINUM, Brooklyn, New York
29 articles 0 photos 85 comments

Favorite Quote:
"What makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well."
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

WOW!!!! I am truly speechless... That was amazing!!!! So beautiful! And the eerie tone made it more captivating and memorable! You are soooooo good! I'll be sure to check out more of your work!