Eternal Youth

It's time we addressed 

the elephant in the room... 

I don't look like I did when I was sixteen 

Long-haired, sweet little thing, 

with lean legs

That carried me hurriedly, swiftly... 

I never wanted to be seen. 

It was, in short, a terrible time for me.

So why am I scrolling through old pictures,
squeezing into old jeans... mourning what used to be? 

Sure my waist was tiny, 
Ah, but remember how you couldn't breathe from sucking it in... 

My arms were trim, 
So why did I always wear long sleeves... 

I knew all the latest dance moves, 
Pity I only practiced them in my room

There was an innocent twinkle in my eye, 
Far better to be hardened and wise 

Yet I am supposed to believe my best days are already behind me...

The eyes that shined a million in one...

Playtime is over they said, make way for the burial grounds

start digging the hole, let die your body, the legs that spirited you away

as though you were a crime scene, all evidence of life scoured away,

the laughter the wind carried

the dreams that bubbled iridescent

All that made you, you

gone in a flash of necessity

just a ghost now...

wailing on my own 

gravestone

Here lies, sweet sixteen

This was a collaborative effort between myself and the creative talents of Rafia Bilkis, who is a fellow poet and a dear friend...check out the original post here

artist featured : @artbymushka