All I Need Is a Friend | Teen Ink

All I Need Is a Friend MAG

January 28, 2009
By Ryan Moran BRONZE, Mt. Prospect, Illinois
Ryan Moran BRONZE, Mt. Prospect, Illinois
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

Books fill up my room.
Not baseball cards,
or pictures of girls,
or basketballs.
Maybe a blown up picture of …
… Pam Anderson might help.

Black-framed glasses
and a white,
pale,
lanky
body.
I should start working out.

At least I can read.
I read four books a day last summer.
The librarian,
80-year-old Mrs. Woodsworth,
she knows my middle name.
If only I had a real friend.
I am sick of seeing her old,
bony,
pale body.
Although it resembles mine.

The kids at school laugh.
Is it the way I dress?
Lacoste,
Ralph Lauren,
La Tigre.
I’ve tried every designer out there.
Staying in the house really saves me money.
My stupid rich parents give me $50 a week for lunch.
$50 times 36 weeks …
what is that?
$1,000,
$2,000,
$10,000?
I should probably know.
Straight A’s 12 years in a row
and counting.

With all of this,
or none of this –
it depends how you look at it –
all I need is a friend.



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This article has 1547 comments.


asriram said...
on Dec. 13 2021 at 2:35 pm
asriram, Concord, North Carolina
0 articles 0 photos 2 comments
I like that this poem does not express rich people the way people look at them. It gives a different scope to some people.

ABarber0 said...
on Dec. 13 2021 at 2:25 pm
ABarber0, Charlotte, North Carolina
0 articles 0 photos 2 comments
I like this poem and that it doesn't necessarily put the subject of the poem into a stereotype of the "stereotypical rich person."

ch_ said...
on Dec. 13 2021 at 1:51 pm
ch_, Charlotte, North Carolina
0 articles 0 photos 2 comments
This was a really nice poem. I like how it could be relatable to many people.

LiamLingor said...
on Dec. 13 2021 at 1:48 pm
LiamLingor, Huntersville, North Carolina
0 articles 0 photos 2 comments
I can relate to this poem as I have lots of books and I've gotten straight A's. I agree that having a friend is something that is necessary to have a good life.

on Sep. 28 2021 at 11:39 pm
EvelyneWrites PLATINUM, Arlington, Virginia
21 articles 0 photos 19 comments
I too love books- four books a day is a lot! My record was a few years ago, hitting normally three on a school day. Do you have any recommendations of what to read?

Cdog383 BRONZE said...
on Apr. 19 2021 at 10:41 am
Cdog383 BRONZE, Plano, Texas
1 article 0 photos 3 comments
for years now I've had one purpose; to be a metaphorical punching bag. i have always been made fun of because of what i like. i was bullied for years by kids who have done some despicable things. i have not been a victim of the despicable things but i have multiple friends who were. but now its time i flip this nightmare on its head and say goodbye to the living nightmare i called a life. i learned how to harness this pain and make it my strength, Iv'e been through it all and i learned how to use it in order to make others not feel the same pain i did.

on Apr. 3 2021 at 8:33 am
living-dead-girl-666 PLATINUM, Coffeyville, Kansas
27 articles 1 photo 72 comments

Favorite Quote:
The roses are wilted
The violets are dead
The demons run circles
Round and round inside my head

After years of being bullied
I just don't care what people think of me
and if you don't like what I'm doing, what I say, or wear then go somewhere else because I don't care

on Nov. 17 2020 at 11:46 am
kingforlife01, Northampton, Massachusetts
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment
I used to be able to relate to this but then I moved to more excepting town and school and I stopped caring about what other people thought.

on Nov. 3 2020 at 9:57 am
Rue_the_day BRONZE, Coleraine, Other
2 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
I think; therefore I am.

This is really good! I love the structure of the poem, with the pale/lanky/body and lacoste/ralph lauren/la tigre.

Chantal2021 said...
on Oct. 15 2020 at 8:21 am
Chantal2021, Ewing, New Jersey
0 articles 0 photos 17 comments
I love this could be written as a full story, but it's shortened to just the right details to know a lot about the narrator plus make you empathic for the narrator.

20240082 said...
on Oct. 15 2020 at 8:21 am
20240082, Ewing, New Jersey
0 articles 0 photos 5 comments
friends will come, its hard for me to find friends as well but dont let it change who you are.

on Aug. 10 2020 at 6:47 am
Princessknightrachael, Lagos, Other
0 articles 0 photos 7 comments

Favorite Quote:
never give up,
love conquerors all,
good always wins the bad

very touching. keep it up

on Aug. 6 2020 at 9:13 am
Inkinspires-Soul SILVER, Thrissur, Other
9 articles 0 photos 3 comments
It's so beautifully written. Pure emotions and immensely relatable. Good Job ! Keep Moving 😇

on Jul. 11 2020 at 1:03 am
GirlyGamerForever3, Bakersfield, California
0 articles 0 photos 5 comments

Favorite Quote:
Love can walk through fire without blinking.

The story feels like thoughts, but more put together. It is how I am feeling a lot recently, how I distance myself from everyone else, but I know I shouldn't, and I know I should do other things.

on May. 5 2020 at 7:57 pm
HuntersOfArt3mis, Joice, Iowa
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
Reading a good book in silence is like eating chocolate for the rest of your life and never getting fat.
—Becca Fitzpatrick

Good job!

Siriuswhitee said...
on Mar. 2 2020 at 6:44 am
Siriuswhitee, 白城, Other
0 articles 0 photos 2 comments
i love it!

Robert214 GOLD said...
on Jan. 25 2020 at 8:09 pm
Robert214 GOLD, Guangzhou, Other
11 articles 0 photos 45 comments

Favorite Quote:
Make the best of what is within our power, and take the rest as it occurs. -Epictetus

Amazing poem!!!

Robert214 GOLD said...
on Jan. 25 2020 at 8:09 pm
Robert214 GOLD, Guangzhou, Other
11 articles 0 photos 45 comments

Favorite Quote:
Make the best of what is within our power, and take the rest as it occurs. -Epictetus

Amazing poem!!!

on Nov. 26 2019 at 1:17 am
sarahshahzad BRONZE, Other, Other
1 article 0 photos 4 comments

Favorite Quote:
Mother Teresa, Eleanor Roosevelt, Helen Keller,

wow..! beautifull sharing love this so much..

on Nov. 20 2019 at 1:42 pm
EileyCollins BRONZE, Concord, Nc, North Carolina
1 article 0 photos 1 comment
wow, this is amazing. I can totally relate.