Porcelain Friend | Teen Ink

Porcelain Friend

April 23, 2013
By LexusMarie PLATINUM, Las Cruces, New Mexico
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.


I’ve got a friend who wears a mask of porcelain,
her face is pale and white yet she wears a smile of delight.
Her voice seems to echo and I‘m the only one who will ever know.
I’ve seen her everyday for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the past three years,
no one will ever hear her ‘see you soon’ call, but me.
She holds my hair back and doesn’t judge my decision as she pats my back.
I leave the water running just in case mom is coming.
My friend tells me that I’ll be okay, for this will make a better day.
You heard what they used to call you in the hallway, I cry to myself.
You saw how they’d look at your clothes, I yearn for help.
Three years ago they didn’t know my name,
now the school chants and talks of all my fame.
They touch my silky hair and admire my make-up,
I smile and nod to all these little suck-ups.
Everyone asks how I fit in my size zero jeans,
I hear mom telling dad that she’s worried.
I walk up the stairs and take a right where my friend is always sitting tight.
She welcomes me in and says, ‘Have a seat.’
Now I’ll put up my hair and get rid of my treat.
She cleans the mess that I have created
and now I am emaciated.
I look in the mirror at my pretty dress and see the stain
Oh great! Now, I have to change. What will mom think?
My cheeks are sinking in, but at least you can see my chin.
My hair is starting to thin because of the stress I’ve been taking in.
At dinner time I’ll walk up the stairs and my friend will still be there.
I’ll hold her porcelain sides and while I throw-up again I’ll probably cry.
She says, ‘See you later!’ as I look in the mirror and brush my teeth.
Now everyone at school will notice me. Aren’t I pretty?


The author's comments:
If you know anyone who is suffering from an eating disorder there are many things you can do to help, so try to!

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This article has 17 comments.


on Jun. 12 2013 at 11:20 pm
kikixkupkake GOLD, San Marcos, California
17 articles 0 photos 92 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The things that walk out when we open our minds." -Dylan McCoy

There's no words for this. Poems have made me close to crying, but I've never cried for one I've read. This made me cry, and that means a lot. I'm just gonna go now, I can't stop shaking. I'm in shock, in awe and absent of all feelings. This is amazing.

SongBird04 said...
on Jun. 8 2013 at 11:49 pm
SongBird04, Littleton, Colorado
0 articles 0 photos 88 comments

Favorite Quote:
You've gotta take the good with the bad, smile when you're sad, love what you got and remember what you had. Always forgive but never forget, learn from your mistakes but never regret. People change and things go wrong but always remember life goes on

Hi Lexus! :) I've been seeing your thoughtful comments on other people's work so I decided to check out some of yours! So far, I love all of them I've read! This one is (sadly) relateable, and it's very well written! I love your stuff, keep it up! 

itsana GOLD said...
on May. 29 2013 at 1:03 am
itsana GOLD, Plano, Texas
12 articles 0 photos 47 comments

Favorite Quote:
"best way to save humanity is to turn the monsters against one another"~neil shusterman

Wow! So beautiful. Loved it   Ps. if you could check out my work that would mean alot(:

on May. 12 2013 at 1:47 pm
Childofthemind BRONZE, San Marcos, California
1 article 0 photos 42 comments
Wow this was really good. i read it and i didnt actually realize that you were talking about the toilet untill after i read it. then it made a ot more sense

on May. 1 2013 at 2:32 pm
WishfulDoer GOLD, Portland, Oregon
14 articles 0 photos 69 comments

Favorite Quote:
If ignorance is bliss, why is our country so complicated?

this was a very chilling poem. I love it. 5/5

on Apr. 30 2013 at 7:58 pm
Mollybug16 BRONZE, Cleveland, Tennessee
4 articles 0 photos 120 comments

Favorite Quote:
Impossible is not a word, it's just a reason for someone not to try.

I love this. its a perfect mixture of beautiful and chilling. 5/5

on Apr. 30 2013 at 8:42 am
Wings10FeetTall GOLD, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
17 articles 0 photos 332 comments

Favorite Quote:
May your words be sharp.<br /> - Christopher Paolini<br /> <br /> <br /> Nobody&#039;s going to wait for you, so do it now.<br /> -Ingrid Michaelson<br /> <br /> <br /> Broken hearts heal, but never the same.<br /> - Jessica Romo<br /> <br /> Idiots rely on luck.<br /> -Sherlock Holmes

This is really interesting. IT flows beautifully, and I like the back story. I loved it!

on Apr. 29 2013 at 6:01 pm
JustAnotherOwl SILVER, Unknown, New York
6 articles 0 photos 378 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;See, we don&#039;t really care who you are;<br /> Everyone is capable of looking up and wishing on a star.<br /> So catch it, so contagious, this day-dreamer&#039;s disease,<br /> And hope can be your sword, slaying darkness with belief.&quot;<br /> <br /> &quot;Sanctuary&quot;- Paradise Fears

I really love this poem! The idea is really interesting, I really like how you describe the "friend". The message is perfect and you get it across wonderfully. It has a kind of humorous tone, which really captures the way teenagers think. I especially loved that very last line, I thought it captured the idea especially well!

Mckay ELITE said...
on Apr. 29 2013 at 3:19 pm
Mckay ELITE, Somewhere, Virginia
146 articles 0 photos 2230 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.&quot;<br /> &mdash;Apple&rsquo;s &ldquo;Think Different&rdquo; commercial, 1997<br /> &ldquo;Crazy people are considered mad by the rest of the society only because their intelligence isn&#039;t understood.&rdquo; <br /> ― Weihui Zhou

This is a very chilling poem; it gives the reader goosebumps visualizing the painful scenarios you convey throughout you poem. I have to congratulate you for taking such a complicated and horrifying case like eating disorders and applying into a well-executed poem. I love your message. Get help before it's too late. You're an amazing writer; I always knew it from the first day I began to read your poetry. Keep writing, Lexus.

on Apr. 28 2013 at 6:35 pm
Laugh-it-Out PLATINUM, Brooklyn, New York, New York
38 articles 0 photos 445 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light&quot; --Dylan Thomas

ohhhh now i get it!!! I really like that Lexus! Very creative.

on Apr. 28 2013 at 2:56 pm
wordnerd54 SILVER, Sparta, New Jersey
6 articles 0 photos 80 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia.&quot; ~E.L. Doctorow

Wow, that was really breathtaking.  You captured that teenage mentally perfectly. I absolutely loved the ending, especially how you described the "friend." I think this is one of my favorite poems on this site. Awesome job!

on Apr. 28 2013 at 1:30 pm
TheHalf-BloodPrincess, Pleasant Hill, California
0 articles 0 photos 9 comments
That was amazing! It really put a message out there but it was kind of humorous. I loved how everything rhymed and loved the detail! Good job! 5/5. Thanks for reading my poem "the last time" too. :)

on Apr. 28 2013 at 1:14 pm
TaylorWintry DIAMOND, Carrollton, Texas
72 articles 0 photos 860 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Never fear shadows. They simply mean there&#039;s a light shining somewhere nearby.&quot; - Unknown

So chilling. At first, I thought it was a girl whose friend was seeing her do these things, but hten I realized that it wasn't... The metaphor here is great. It's opaque, and that's good... It means youmust dig a little deeper to uncover the actual spirit of this poem. I like how it's almost in the format of prose as well... Very interesting. I love this so much. 5/5

on Apr. 28 2013 at 11:50 am
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.

Thank you! And the girl's 'friend' is the toilet. So, it's just the girl and the toilet. She puts up her hair, no one actually holds it since it's just a toilet. Haha, do you get it? But, again, thanks a ton!

on Apr. 27 2013 at 6:54 pm
Laugh-it-Out PLATINUM, Brooklyn, New York, New York
38 articles 0 photos 445 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light&quot; --Dylan Thomas

Wow Lexus! This is so powerful and so raw.i can feel the emotion just coming out. The descriptions are beautiful. My favorite line is "I'll hold her porcelain sides and while I throw up again I'll probably cry" beautiful, just perfect and laced with so much emotion. If I were the editors I would have given you a check for this, and I am not just saying that. Just one question though: is the person holding her hair back herself, because I feel that there are two different perspectives, the friend and the girl with the eating disorder. Are they the same person? Because that is my understanding. Or are you saying that you know somebody and you could have helped? Either way, amazing job. Keep rockin and writing Lexus

on Apr. 27 2013 at 3:28 pm
SaphiraBrightscales DIAMOND, Islamabad, Other
75 articles 16 photos 1136 comments

Favorite Quote:
I&#039;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. <br /> - Maya Angelou <br /> 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&rsquo;t/He would laugh and explain that some were airplanes/I still wish on them today ~ Laugh-It-Out<br /> The feathers of a crow are black/The ink of my pen is blacker/The pain of my heart is blackest~ Mckay<br /> If love produced a blossom/I&rsquo;d take it in my palm/What a blessing, the bright color!/How soothing, such a balm!/I&rsquo;d keep a petal for my own/The rest, drop from my hands/For such a flower would multiply/And populate the lands~ thesilentraven<br /> 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

This is truly intense and motivating. You're right....We must try to help but sometimes even when we approach them about this people's feeling get hurt...it's like they don't want anyone to help...but still we try..... Marvellous piece...but it was kind of weird how you started off with a rhyme then went free verse but I like it :D 4/5

on Apr. 27 2013 at 12:50 pm
SoulPoetry PLATINUM, Sierra Madre, California
29 articles 4 photos 69 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;I will work harder&quot; (animal farm boxer the horse)

Wow, this poem is so moving and captivating. It's so vivid. It's so beautifully written!