Mind Palace | Teen Ink

Mind Palace

July 20, 2013
By stuntddude BRONZE, Columbia, Missouri
stuntddude BRONZE, Columbia, Missouri
3 articles 1 photo 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
because the fear is always there, but we keep it at a distance - through a broken lens, facts and figures we so easily forget, or a song about somebody else


I find a blank, empty slate to write my confessions.

But now that I have entered this state of confession,
I know not what to confess.
My mind goes blank as the page,
And I stare, unthinking, unremembering, into the abyss before me.
This page contains a story that yearns to be written.
I lift my pen and prepare.

My mind unravels before me.
I see the palace of my thoughts, as transparent as ever it has been.
Ideas whizz by inside, busily to and fro.
They are seeing to the upkeep of my mind palace,
Which palace extends out to the horizon, on towards infinity as I draw near.

It is full of elaborate murals and magnificent photographs.
In one room there is a pipe organ, bellowing a tune that I cannot quite make out.
If only I had the right spark, the proper stimuli, perhaps I would remember.

My senses go mute as in a dream,
And I know my way around not by sight nor scent nor sound nor touch,
But by memory.

The walls become solid as I walk on.
I can no longer see ahead.
The next rooms await me only as distant memories.

I stand, now, before a wrought iron gate,
A portcullis donned with rust of all shades.
It looks at me and knows what I have come here to do.
I look at it and know that it knows.

A screech of cold metal against colder stone,
Resounding off the walls as the gate begins to rattle,
A din that seems never to end.

I look through the crossed beams and see,
Small and minute in the center of the vast courtyard beyond,
A strangely familiar object.

But that is not important as the portcullis moves, faster now, sensing my urgency.
Yes, urgent it is, the task which must be completed.
The portcullis gapes at me, astonished at what is about to be done,
And I walk through into the gardens beyond.



Vines twist up to meet me, blocking my view and my path, but I brush them aside.
The trees lean away from me in apprehension,
But I am determined, and pay them no mind.

I am nearly halfway there.

The ground before me begins to slope.
I am climbing now,
First a hill,
Then a mountain,
Now a sheer rock face to reach my destination.
Thick fog obscures my vision and I can no longer see the top as I continue to climb.
I reach the top of the cliff.

I am nearly halfway there.

I come to a canyon, deep and wide.
A torrent rages at the bottom, lashing against sharp, deadly rocks.
I spread my wings as the wind catches them, and begin to fly.
The wind storms about me, threatening to blow me off course,
To dash me against those sharp rocks,
But I forge onward.
The wind is a tornado around me now, throwing my body this way and that.
It flings me to the ground with fear, as one might fling a poisonous spider.
I get up and brush the dirt off my broken wings, content to walk.

I am nearly there.

It is within my sight now,
Delicate as ever, as I, battered and sodden as rain begins to fall,
Reach out to grab it, to hold up my prize.

I am there now.

I hold the thing in my hands.
The palace knows it has lost; it yields me the key and I twist it in the lock.

Hello, my old friend.
What have I forgotten?
I locked you away once, when I was afraid,
But now I am ready.



I open the box and look inside.


The author's comments:
A poem reflecting about reflection.

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This article has 5 comments.


Ana143 GOLD said...
on Feb. 6 2015 at 10:59 am
Ana143 GOLD, Bolivar, Ohio
17 articles 4 photos 64 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Your always beautiful in my eyes&quot;<br /> &quot;Be who you are not what someone else wants you to be&quot;

That was amazing!!! I can't even began to tell you how awesome this was. I hope you write more. Can't wait!

on Nov. 21 2014 at 1:49 pm
Niyaroo PLATINUM, Colonial Beach, Virginia
31 articles 4 photos 69 comments
This is really good

on Mar. 16 2014 at 10:31 pm
Aramis_999 PLATINUM, Matthews, North Carolina
25 articles 0 photos 54 comments

Favorite Quote:
Be strong, believe in freedom and in God, love yourself, understand your sexuality, have a sense of humor, don&rsquo;t judge people by their religion, color or sexual habits, love life and your family. -Madonna

Dude, this freaking rocked. 

on Oct. 28 2013 at 8:43 pm
SpidersAcrossStars PLATINUM, Hayward, California
36 articles 0 photos 160 comments

Favorite Quote:
For you, a thousand times over.

This is really good....hmmmm...

on Aug. 13 2013 at 3:14 pm
Superhero_Fan SILVER, Tomorrowland, California
7 articles 1 photo 163 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Impossible; for How many people did you know who refracted your own light to you?&rdquo; - Fahrenheit 451

Wow. You took me on the ride with him. I could see everything you spoke of, and I felt his determination. Good job, and keep writing!