yawning
I spinthe dial of my metal cabinet
three times in oppositedirections
the click of the handle vibrates in myears
students
filing down the crowded passage
talking andlaughing they pass me by
the people I grew up with
something snapsin my mind
only one more year?
can that be all that's left
ofthis first era in my life?
I try to shake the idea from myhead
willing myself to deny the simple truth
as persistentmemories flood my mind
childhood games:
capture the flag, TV tagand make-believe
hundreds of hour-long bus rides
churchsleepovers:
toilet-papering houses and Chinese firedrills
someone's voice brings me back to reality
green eyesstaring up at me
young and naive to the world
she asks fordirections and I smile
ready to instill in her the answers to theweb
everything I've learned in four brief years
I want to warn herto
cherish the time she has because it will fly by
not to rushlove because it will find her
nothing's as it seems and it's notmeant to be
make the best of things because they won'tchange
don't chase popularity but don't be afraid to try somethingnew
be yourself
and HAVE FUN
but that isn't even thebeginning
so I shake my head and direct her to class
concludingthere's no way to avoid the inevitable
reliving my childhood only inmy memories
how can it already be gone?
so short was the life Ilived as a teenager
soon I will be hurled into the adult world
tolive on my own, and deal with hardships
forced to grow up toofast
the destiny of childhood awaits