I am done wasting my time.
I am done waiting for
One wondrous moment to whisk me away
I am done missing trains and wearing watches.
Because Time is melting around my hands
And the past is the flame that burns my fingertips I look back at my childhood At the playgrounds and rugburns and popsicles I see light and kind and winding down And the same way we see pictures Of a ‘53 Corvette and pretty girls in poodle skirts We forget that those poodle skirts “Belonged in the kitchen”
Our memory has been twisted and mangled until Thorns become pyramids and we were all royalty And the cycle continues Because we refuse to leave this mirage behind Where malice looks like mischief And the monsters we fought were imaginary Our playgrounds become desks become offices and we are ready for battle, always.
It will always get harder,
Faster stronger angrier scarier
Accepting the fact that things may get hard Is how we end up breaking out, becoming soft When we feel pain we clench it We grab it and close our fists until Our knuckles are white and our lips are blue And the pain is still there We all need to learn To Let Go…
Arda Athman, 12
"Anastasia Topez"
acrylic paint
TIME
by Lindsey Nystrom, 11