Finding footsteps

by Kristina Harris - Aries

Suck on the pacifier..
Play with the rattle
which hangs above your crib.
The shapes and colors
are absorbed by your eager, young brain
willing to grow.
Vapo-rub..rubbed on your chest
by motherly hands..
It helps you sleep...no troubles
no cares in all the world.
Hair spray..you spray on your long locks.
You try to look as pretty
as the other girls, 
but you just can't.
You feel mousy, quiet, and hidden
behind insecurity.
Hamburgers..your first job.
you're scared and shy, and skinny.
You won't eat what the others 
shove mindlessly into their mouths..
You won't eat anything..
but you're thin.
You're not so ugly anymore.
The guys smile back now..
Most of the time,
they smile first.
Still no troubles, no cares..
except of course, the battle
you fight in your mind.
but they can't tell.
Too much..too much hair dye.
You're hair's jet black,
too much make-up...your eyes
like raccoon eyes..
Now people notice you,
but they are scared.
They don't understand.
You're still hiding.
you have troubles, you have cares.
You are afraid to come out
of the house, for fear of
being hurt by rude stares,
or comments, or even worse,
nothing at all.
You are alone..at a university..
You're have become very quiet,
very withdrawn. NOthing
makes you smile. You can't have fun
like the other kids.
You drink alcohol, among other things
to make you happy for a brief
moment in time.
You never thought you'd resort to this
But, "oh well"..you say.
It's keeping me here.
You are home..you've been gone only a year.
You reunite with friends,
and make new ones.
You're hair's not so black anymore.
you're not stick skinny,
but you've lost the flabbiness of your
youth..You're finally holding
a stable weight.
Sadly, this is important for your
happiness...
You start dressing like a girl again.
You start speaking your mind..
You start making people laugh.
You start talking to everyone.
You break out of this shell that
has kept you hidden all these years.
You escape. the real you is seen by all..
You change....the direction of your life,
no more school, no more numbness.
You want to live.
You move away..no more vaporub,or dancing
shapes above your crib.
No more teachers motivating you to work hard..
just you, just you and a dream..
that you cannot deny any longer.
You know you'll make it..
You just need time,
time to make money,
time to move away again..
Somewhere bigger, somewhere with
substance, There's not much for you
here.
But, you live anyway.
You live everyday.
You work to make money..
You audition for local shows..
anything to keep you occupied..
while you wait for something big.
Maybe something big will never come,
but you don't care...
You live...
and live and live...
everyday..
You live..
Birth sign: Aries
Date created: 2000-09-28 01:59:15
Last updated: 2021-04-14 17:18:11
Poem ID: 57753

You need to log in to edit this poem if it is yours.

View more poems by Kristina Harris.