Adam Halwitz - Leave This Song Behind: Teen Poetry at Its Best

For twenty-five years now and counting, Teen Ink has made it their mission to make sure the younger voices among us are heard in all their infinite energy and variety. In Leave This Song Behind, a rousing medley of hearts and minds range far and wide in coming to grips with the life of our times, happily reminding us why poetry remains one of the best of all possible ways for the up and coming to have their say. Compiled with eclectic zest and assembled under beguiling headings, this anthology keeps the juices flowing with infectious conviction. The editors have gone about their task with uncommon aplomb, and the avid teen bards have seized the daymaking their presence felt in poems by turns buoyant, pensive, funny, funky, prickly, snappy, stirring, and all intensely alive. David Barber, Poetry Editor, The Atlantic; author of
two poetry collections, Wonder Cabinet and The Spirit Level Using strong images to confront complicated issues, these poets are often perceptive beyond their years. Have no fear for the future of poetry, as long as young people like these continue to write, and places like Teen Ink continue to make their voices heard.

Madeleine Fuchs Holzer, Educator-in-Residence,
Academy of American Poets Leave This Song Behind is a robust, exceptional collection of diverse young people stretching, playing with, and recrafting the genre in a refreshing, compelling way. The contents of the anthologyarranged invitingly and using teen-friendly languagewelcome multiple rereadings. Additionally, the remarkable quality of the poems is an important reminder that these poems can serve as apt mentor texts for teachers and other young poets in search of reading and savoring this body of mature, talented, quality literature. Most important, this anthology energizes young people to try their hand at writing poetry, too. Kimberly N. Parker, PhD, President,
New England Association of Teachers of English Its difficult to believe that teens wrote these astounding poems, but given the vibrant, youthful voices on display, who else could have written them? Leave This Song Behind is more than just a collection.

Its a celebration. J. A. White, award-winning writer of The Thickety series As young as these poets are, they know that the poem is an act of paying careful meditative attention to the smallest detail. These poems probe the most difficult situations with clarity, honesty, and wit. They reveal themselves to us through the images of the authors lives, and they fill me with hope and optimism about a future of literacy and imagination.

Sheryl Noethe, Montana State Poet Laureate Emeritus,
Founding and Artistic Director of the Missoula Writing Collaborative Teen Ink was very important and formative for me growing up. It wasnt just a place to see and read great art; Teen Ink helped me feel like I belonged. Ziggy Unzicker, winner of the 2013 Juneau
Grand Poetry Slam; contributor Teen writers, if they are acknowledged, are often cited as being the voices of the future. But this anthology is not important because it showcases the voices of tomorrowit is important because it contains the voices of today. Right now, teenagers have things to say about art, religion, sex, happiness, and so much moreand right now, if you care about these things, youll listen. Anna Leader, winner of the National Poetry Prize for Youth in Luxembourg and the Stephen Spender Prize for Poetry in Translation LEAVE THIS SONG BEHIND teen poetry at its best A TEEN INK BOOK
Edited by Stephanie H.

Meyer, John Meyer,
Adam Halwitz, and Cindy W. Spertner Health Communications, Inc. Deerfield Beach, Florida www.hcibooks.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
is available through the Library of Congress 2016 The Young Authors Foundation, Inc., d/b/a Teen InkTM ISBN-13: 978-07573-1896-2 (Paperback)
ISBN-10: 07573-1896-7 (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 978-07573-1897-9 (ePub)
ISBN-10: 07573-1897-5 (ePub) All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher. HCI, its logos, and marks are trademarks of Health Communications, Inc.

Publisher: Health Communications, Inc.
3201 S.W. 15th Street
Deerfield Beach, FL 334428190 Cover design by Sherri Hamilton
Cover art by Callie Fink
Interior design and formatting by Sherri Hamilton ePub created by Dawn Von Strolley Grove We dedicate this book to our three amazing grandsons
Orson, Tommy, and Matty
as well as our longtime supporter, Barbara Field. Stephanie and John Meyer Contents First and foremost, we thank and acknowledge all the teenagers who have poured their hearts and minds into the pages of Teen Ink magazine and its ever-burgeoning website, TeenInk.com. This endeavor began as a way to help all teens feel they have a voice, and were so grateful to the thousands of young writers who have furthered our mission by submitting their work. Their creativity has never disappointed us. Since its creation, Teen Ink has depended on countless supporters, from our board, donors, and colleagues to our families and friends.

This latest book was the product of many people, including our faithful volunteer, Barbara Field, whos been helping assess poetry for twenty years; our college intern, Natasza Gawlick, who aided this project greatly; and Sherri Hamilton, who designed the books interiors and cover. For this specific project, we must again focus on our constantly supportive publisher, HCI (Health Communications, Inc.). Our relationship with HCI spans more than fifteen fruitful years. We thank Peter Vegso, its captain; Ian Briggs, our editor; and, of course, all the support staff who have made this book possible. Stephanie and John Meyer, Founders/Publishers of Teen Ink
Adam Halwitz, Book Development Editor
Cindy W. Spertner, Editor Instructions for living a life.

Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it. from Sometimes by Mary Oliver Are there any better words for poets to live by? After all, isnt this how all poems are born? Poets look. They listen. They wonder and feel.

And they are so movedwhether by astonishment, love, heartbreak, humor, or the desire to right injusticethat they need to write it down. For over twenty-six years, teens from around the world have been sending their poems to Teen Ink, a place where words matter and teen voices are celebrated. Over the last decade alone, we have received and reviewed close to half a million poetry submissions. So when we decided to compile our first all-poetry anthology, we were blessedand overwhelmedwith a wealth of choices. To prepare Leave This Song Behind, Teen Ink editors reread thousands of the poems weve featured in our magazine, and the final result is in your hands now: a collection of about a hundred of our favorites from the past five years. What makes the pieces in this book so powerful that they stood out to us? After our initial wow, we looked more deeply at each poems strengths.

Weve divided Leave This Song Behind into seven sections based on the poetic techniques or qualities that moved us most. Vivid sensory details make some poems shine. Others catch our attention with simple, spare language. We chose other pieces because we were struck by their thoughtful use of form; compelling stories; strong figurative language; unexpected connections and wit; and fresh writing about familiar topics. We hope you love these poems as much as we do. We are thrilled, as ever, to provide a place where young poets and the art of poetry can be celebrated.

Teen Ink welcomes all teenagers feedback and self-expression, and submitting to our website and print magazine is easy; just visit TeenInk.com . We look forward to being astonished by your work! As a young person growing up in the 60s, the first creative writing I ever did was poetry. Back in fifth grade, I hated most kinds of writing. So when our English teacher, Mrs. Auerbach, assigned each of us to compose a poem using rhyme and meter, metaphor, and, if we were really feeling ambitious, personification and alliteration, I cant say that I was thrilled. (It wasnt me. (It wasnt me.