YOUNGER THEN

Ask me a question

get silence in return

So afraid of standing out

So afraid of being heard

 

Fear and discomfort the thin red line

The distance and the ability to conquer that

Would be like pulling an atom bomb from a small hat

 

The kettle was stirred my voice unheard

Yet I screamed inside

Dreaming of the days

when this wretched feeling just would die

 

And there she was

Red haired and young

Far away yet so close

Always shimmering

My immaculate rose

Insecurity written incoherently

In prose

 

Tears welled up in my eyes

I wanted to be close

But knew I would die if I even tried

So I shrugged my shoulders and walked on by

 

So where the days when I was younger

All dreams ripped to shreds and asunder

A full of dread and fear adolescent

Yearning to escape the ass-end