I never thought that working would save my brain

From a spiral of reflections with wanton gain

As I grow up I cover myself in a shell

That pushes out the compliments but hooks in the pain

But nobody wants that mental strain

Which hides itself under their tongue like a popcorn grain.

 

When I was young and my only directive

Was to follow the light lingering on the beaten path

Like how the smell of good food traverses through the air

Finding my nose and making a nest on my hair

I hunted that light like it was an urban legend 

I tried capturing it wholly in my hands until it was just corona,

But in the process absorbed some of that ultraviolet wonder instead,

So it is now something I both emanate and seek

The perilous journey through the trail was really into me.

 

I grew up when I became my obsession

And I declared war on ignorance and debility.

 

I am the tactician, the general, and the army.

 

I grew up when I started to look at my mirrored reflection in the eyes

And demand myself to go further.

 

I am the boxer, the coach, and the enemy.

 

I grew up when my complacency began to hang over me

Like a leaky faucet spewing guilt.

 

I am the tenant, the landlord, and the mechanic.

 

I grew up when I reduced myself to pieces of clay,

To be shaped by my own hands.

 

I am everything that I could be.