MAROONED

mind can be a scary place like a stormed island full of turbulence, this is a coming of age poem depicting what a teenagers mind often goes through.

My mind’s like an island,
and I’m marooned here.
There’s a storm coming,
the water’s rage trying to cut my skin,
trying to make me bleed,
trying to bruise me,
painting my skin in every shade of a peacock’s tail.

The sea snores as it sleeps peacefully,
stealing all my nights as it rests on my shoulder,
feeding upon my misery and leaving me to starve.
There’s a lighthouse that sometimes flickers,
a tarnished shade of yellow,
helping to show
the way to the shore.
But the sea quenches the fire in me.
Like a banshee, it screams,
making me want to drown there and then.

It’s a scary place, my mind.
Not once have I been to the sea,
and yet it makes me feel like I’m forever stuck there�"
a small child with nothing to live for
but the glimmer of my soul
and the tarnished light of hope,
with nothing to feed upon
but my own worries swimming in the sea,

with no air to breathe
but the thick dust of my insecurities,
breaking me,
making me want to leave.
But there’s no other place I can go.

‘Fore I pass this sea,
and the ship that brought me here
is drowned in my own misery,
too deep inside the sea.
But like a fragile twig, I still stand,
as fragile as ever
but never completely broken.

As the light flickers just in time,
I’m about to jump�"
it makes me want to live,
it makes me want to leave
this island where I’m marooned,
where the storm never ends.

Reviews

[Wanzala Meshack]

This poem is a deeply moving and vivid depiction of the emotional struggles many teenagers face. The use of the island and sea as metaphors effectively captures the sense of isolation and turmoil. The imagery of the lighthouse flickering as a symbol of hope amidst the storm is particularly powerful. Despite the dark themes, the poem conveys a sense of fragile resilience and the desire to find light even in the darkest times. Beautifully written and emotionally resonant!

[Dara]

This a very profound write and teeming with superb metaphors. I too love writing about the sea. It represents this world in which we live in and how we ‘sail’ through its waters which at times are rough and other times calm. Well done!

[Betty Hermelee]

I like your metaphors in this piece....you bring the sea to life, depicting your moods...I feel like sometimes your'e drowning in your sorrows, no place to escape....your words are vivid and very clear about your emotions..."Like a fragile twig I still stand".....just the flicker of some light gives you hope...
lovely poem, thank you for sharing..
Warmly, B