Dear Past A,
You remember the past.
It came with bittersweet smiles
and good moments that turned bad.
How sad.
The walls that housed your mind
In the name of schooling was rather
A torture ground for people of your brilliance.
Library visits- an abomination.
Book-reading told a sad tale of
The alone and the ugly.
Lunch time caught you in a crossfire, always;
You and your fear of people.
School dismissals found you in the across-the-street crowd;
Eating delicious dry rice and drinking chilly cold water,
Surrounded by people but oh, so alone.
Your young confidence shook in its boots,
Cowered in the lowest corner of your mind,
Leaving you defenseless.
There was nothing you could do.
You wish to revisit those moments and rewrite them.
To own yourself, and not be ashamed of your person.
You didn’t have to shrink into the shadows,
But you did;
And that hid your beautiful personality.
But
You created magic with the light that shone from within,
Coming out through your eyes.
‘Twas there, in the shadows, that you discovered Art.
Do we dare call that a silver lining?
Dear Present A,
You are growing up.
You can hold a stare and no one on earth can intimidate you-
To their knowledge.
It’s a start, the journey to greatness.
The confidence to be Truly You
Rose from its slumber and stomps through college in brown leather boots.
Yes, there are sneaks through hallways,
Silence in classes and awkward laughs here and everywhere.
But you don’t run.
You don’t run.
If your sometimes brave feet shake in your boots, you shake in place, but cowering is now beneath you.
You try not to look back at that shy girl,
Yet she looms over your head in moments of confidence,
Daring you to speak.
Reminding you that you’re weak;
Giving a negative definition to meek.
Girl, Speak!
Your voice needs to be heard.
Creative or physical, it’s a journey.
Wear black in mourning for the loss of precious time
But
Yellow in rejoicing, for the lost little girl now found.
Dear A,
Only way left to go is up!
Not in what the world expects of You
But what you expect of yourself;
Your innermost desires laid bare.
Look out, world!
Authored by: Andrea Hare
Featured Image by: Yeshi Kangrang on Unsplash
