Almost Legal
Location
Time is relentless.
What used to feel infinite is now depleting,
There’s no room for a father’s affection or a mother’s caress.
Instead I’m left walking through busy streets alone,
Wondering when Time will slow down again.
Transporting me to the days of dollies and princess thrones
To the years when my imagination ran wild.
When finger paints and prancing through the tall grass at the park were my only concern,
My jubilant innocence dominating through one-toothed smiles.
Now there’s a never-ending civil war within me
Emotions slash out logic, logic ressurects to slay emotion,
Only to be defeated once more like waves smoldering sail boats lost at sea.
Needing guidance, craving perfection,
I reach for the truth buried in mounds of falsehood.
Ultimately choking under society’s misconception
The ripe age of seventeen is supposed to mark the beginning of a new chapter.
It entices us by dangling adulthood in front of our noses.
Little do we know Time is our captor
Tricking us into forgetting the simplicity we all yearn.
Time will no longer permit bedtime stories,
No more colored band-aids for ouchies or weekly allowances well earned.
Unfortunately, like most others I’ll forget it soon.
My memories will be washed away in the robotic motion of adulthood,
Still, adolescence will creep out of my subconscious,
Occasionally pleasing me with a gentle croon.