The Returning | Teen Ink
  1. Home
  2. Poetry
  3. Free Verse
  4. The Returning

The Returning

April 5, 2011
By ScarletMassacre GOLD, Burkeville, Virginia
More by this author
ScarletMassacre GOLD, Burkeville, Virginia
10 articles 15 photos 4 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The hardest ones to love are the ones that need it the most." - Jacoby Shaddix

View profile

She stands in the open door
The heavy scent of rain fills her nostrils
A blackened, swirling sky above
Identical to the turmoil that swells in her soul
Her head hangs low
She is ashamed
Voices inside murmur “traitor”
They are like tiny knives piercing at her heart
The black cloak that hangs from her fallen shoulders
Whips in the stinging wind
Through the darkness of the room
She can feel the eyes
Eyes of her long-lost family
Digging into her skin
Burning her with anger
Silent lips lie below those eyes
Questioning her without a word
The factory lies on the horizon
Dark grey smoke billowing from the stacks
Thoughts of her past flow through her mind
It will never be the same
I am not the one they know
My work has changed me
They will not accept me anymore
Though the silence is overwhelming
And the anger burns hot
An unknown calm has washed over them
For the prodigal daughter has come home

The author's comments:
Inspired by a painting entitled "The Prodigal Daughter" by Michael Lenson
Post a comment
Submit your own

Similar Articles

Previous Next
Poetry
The Protectors' of the World
By Arbys GOLD
Dobbs Ferry, New York
Arbys GOLD, Dobbs Ferry, New York
15 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
&quot;I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity.&quot;Edgar Allan Poe<br /> &quot;A dream doesn&#039;t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work. ~Colin Powell&quot; ~ Colin Powell<br /> &quot;Wisdom is not finally tested in the schools, Wisdom <br /> &quot;A poem is never finished, only abandoned.&quot;-Paul Valery

View profile
Poetry
Remembrance
By Rachel Bellah BRONZE
Seattle, Washington
Rachel Bellah BRONZE, Seattle, Washington
4 articles 0 photos 1 comment
View profile
Poetry
Motley Crue: I really hear you
By Arbys GOLD
Dobbs Ferry, New York
Arbys GOLD, Dobbs Ferry, New York
15 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
&quot;I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity.&quot;Edgar Allan Poe<br /> &quot;A dream doesn&#039;t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work. ~Colin Powell&quot; ~ Colin Powell<br /> &quot;Wisdom is not finally tested in the schools, Wisdom <br /> &quot;A poem is never finished, only abandoned.&quot;-Paul Valery

View profile
Poetry
Joys of Life
By Daniel Seeley Hicks-Neal BRONZE
Westville, New Jersey
Daniel Seeley Hicks-Neal BRONZE, Westville, New Jersey
1 article 0 photos 0 comments
View profile
Poetry
'' FLY ''
By MONKEE426 GOLD
Minnesota, Minnesota
MONKEE426 GOLD, Minnesota, Minnesota
12 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Favorite Quote:
Live--So Live It To The Fuller

View profile
Poetry
I want a guy...
By grlgotgame BRONZE
Chillicothe, Ohio
grlgotgame BRONZE, Chillicothe, Ohio
4 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Girls with butts like mine, don&#039;t talk to boys with faces like yours.&quot;

View profile

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 0 comments.