To Twist One's Thumb | Teen Ink

To Twist One's Thumb MAG

October 16, 2008
By Anonymous

A million times she’s told me
To keep that window blind closed
She blames it on the neighbors
And how they might see in
And see me changing
And I look at her and think
Maybe I want them to see me
Changing because I know that
That would twist your thumb
Without even touching you
And so that window blind speaks
To me and says how it hopes I’ll
Keep it open, convincing me with
Words like sunlight and rebellion
And twirling its cord around in a
Game of hide-and-seek hoping
That I’ll give up until my mother
Twists my thumb with bringing
Velvet curtains into the picture
Thick enough to block out light.



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This article has 28 comments.


on Mar. 7 2016 at 5:51 pm
TikiTobi PLATINUM, Traverse City, Michigan
20 articles 1 photo 36 comments

Favorite Quote:
I got a ton of work to do. A SKELEton.<br /> I need to put a little more BackBONE into it.<br /> I deserve PUNishment.<br /> Nyeh heh heh!

Love it! Very nice! Good job!

on Mar. 7 2016 at 5:44 pm
TikiTobi PLATINUM, Traverse City, Michigan
20 articles 1 photo 36 comments

Favorite Quote:
I got a ton of work to do. A SKELEton.<br /> I need to put a little more BackBONE into it.<br /> I deserve PUNishment.<br /> Nyeh heh heh!

*She* -.- If you couldn't tell, its a she. *Her*

on May. 15 2013 at 9:36 pm
LegendInTheMaking GOLD, Oswego,
12 articles 0 photos 10 comments
True Dat my friend!

on Aug. 16 2011 at 5:17 pm
Lola_Black GOLD, Harrison, Michigan
11 articles 2 photos 276 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;I&#039;ve always been famous. It&#039;s just everybody&#039;s just now finding out.&quot; --Lady Gaga

Nice! Once upon a time, it was my old man who would constantly remind me to close the blinds. I laughed when the cat tore them to pieces!

on Jun. 22 2011 at 9:16 pm
msoccerm345 SILVER, Grimes, Iowa
7 articles 0 photos 68 comments

Favorite Quote:
You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.

my mom tells me this like every single day.. although i dont really argue with her because i dont want my neighboors to see me naked.. haha

great piece of writing:)


on Jun. 6 2011 at 12:45 pm
WaterGirl23 BRONZE, Nutley, New Jersey
4 articles 5 photos 47 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.&quot; -William Shakespeare

basically, what i think, she wants to keep her blinds open because she wants to annoy her mother and rebell against her rules. but then her mother got curtains, so it blocks out the sunshine

on Dec. 22 2010 at 8:03 pm
bound4life4ever PLATINUM, Jamaica, New York
32 articles 0 photos 111 comments

Favorite Quote:
Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.

OMG! THATS SO FUNNY! MY MOM ND I ARE ALWAYS ARGUIN BOUT CLOSIN THE BLINDS! wow.. thats cool how u made thius poem ..love it btw!

on Dec. 22 2010 at 6:13 pm
OriginalCarbonation GOLD, Naperville, Illinois
11 articles 0 photos 102 comments

Favorite Quote:
dream as if you&#039;ll live forever<br /> live as if you&#039;ll die tomorrow

i think i like it alot, but im not completly sure i understand its meaning... explain anyone?

on Sep. 24 2010 at 1:50 pm
haventy0uheard PLATINUM, Kings Park, New York
28 articles 0 photos 186 comments
amazing, simply.

Photo_97 said...
on Sep. 12 2010 at 12:47 pm
Photo_97, Ct., Connecticut
0 articles 7 photos 65 comments
wow! boy have i been there lol. i love it.

on Sep. 3 2010 at 3:03 pm
Lilacs_Smell_Wonnerful PLATINUM, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
40 articles 2 photos 86 comments

Favorite Quote:
When life gives you lemons make grape juice. Then sit back and watch everyone look at you in amazement. :)

Really good job! I have felt EXACTLY the same way towards my mother. :) I love the last four lines. They give the whole poem a deeper and more in-depth look. :) Please keep writing!

-Lilac


on Jun. 7 2010 at 5:39 pm
RobertoO PLATINUM, Barrington Hills, Illinois
31 articles 0 photos 14 comments
Excellent, love the concept of change desplayed.

laurenz GOLD said...
on Feb. 15 2010 at 11:48 am
laurenz GOLD, Phoenix, Arizona
12 articles 11 photos 12 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Writing is not a job, something you do. It&rsquo;s something you are, something you can&rsquo;t not be. Being a writer is &hellip; about being so bewitched by language that writing seems real, and life by comparison feels like a dream.&quot; ~ Adair Lara

I love this - especially the concept of you "changing," and how the reader can play with the multiple definitions of the word to see the different layers of the poem. Check out some of my stuff: http ://www.teenink .com /search.php?smodel=article&s_title=&s_body=&s_screenname=iridescentbubbles&s_firstname=&s_lastname=&s_city=&s_state=&s_country=&s_section=&sart_tag=&sart_category0=&sart_screenname=&sart_firstname=&sart_lastname=&sart_city=&sart_state=&sart_country=&sall_title=&sall_screenname=&sall_firstname=&sall_lastname=&sall_city=&sall_state=&sall_country=&s_sitein1=magazine&s_sitein2=teenink&submit=+Search!+

jimmy_a GOLD said...
on Dec. 31 2009 at 4:19 am
jimmy_a GOLD, Sanford, North Carolina
12 articles 0 photos 40 comments

Favorite Quote:
Look for me, not with a flashlight but open your heart n free your soul n there my love i shall be

simply wonderful! one of my fav poems

on May. 6 2009 at 11:30 pm
EleanorRigby PLATINUM, New York City, New York
28 articles 3 photos 53 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;The optomist proclaims we live in the best of worlds, and the pessimist fears this is true.&quot; - James Branch Cabell

my mom yells at me for that all the time and i so relate to the rest of your poem too, my mom even bought thick curtains cuz she was angry but i open them all the time anyway cuz i like the windows open even if people can see me, great job

on Apr. 8 2009 at 3:09 pm
E.L.W. PLATINUM, Glen Allen, Virginia
31 articles 0 photos 59 comments

Favorite Quote:
Here&#039;s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels.<br /> The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes - <br /> the ones who see things differently.<br /> They&#039;re not fond of rules and they have no respect for the status quo. <br /> They push the human race forward.

I can't really relate to wanting to twist your mother's thumb but the poem is well constructed. I might choose to use stronger imagery, but thats just my style.

on Apr. 1 2009 at 12:12 am
u guys have no liife to write a comment on all the poems!! dont u have anything better to do gosh!! but btw like the poem

on Feb. 20 2009 at 3:31 am
xhelloxlovex14 BRONZE, Westwood, New Jersey
3 articles 0 photos 9 comments
My mother says the exact same thing to me... about people looking in at a teenage girl changing. I keep my blonds open to piss her off. Loved the poem

on Feb. 20 2009 at 1:45 am
good stuff, well done

tweedle dee said...
on Feb. 19 2009 at 8:15 pm
hey, this was good. liked how you used curtains as an example for so much more. great job!