Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Twenty Nine: A Birthday Poem

Five years old and the world is buried treasure
Don't know what you're looking for
Thrilled with what you find
A marble is a priceless gem
That rusted screw a key
Five years old and life is possibility

Ten years old and the world is an adventure
Coming at you constantly
Waking or asleep
Every thought's a prototype
Every word a clue
Ten years old and dreams come true

Fifteen years and the world is a loudspeaker
Every message amplified
Emotions huge and raw
It all matters way too much,
The things I think and feel
Fifteen years and what is really real?

Twenty years old and the world is so my oyster
I’ve totally got this
Ready to rock and roll
Classes, papers, passport stamps,
Nothing left untried
Twenty and the sky’s so wide

Twenty-five and the world’s a disappointment
Bills and debts and resumes,
Pills and hermithood.
Is disillusionment a verb?
My dreams seem like a lie.
Twenty-five, and why even try?

So here I am now, on the cusp of thirty
Don't know what the world is
Don't know who I am
All I've got is stories and hopes, 
The love of friends and kin
Twenty-nine and ready to begin