Growing Up

by niaxrae7

February 13, 2018

I stand in a glass vacuum all day and I wait

No air, true companionship, or outward personality

I wait because a metal sphere hangs over my cage

Suspended by eighteen strands of the finest gold silk

Each grazed by the knife that cuts through the shackles of the enslaved

All twined into a shiny gold rope

A noose to my free will

As long, unfulfilled moments pass

In masses of missed opportunities

Further the sphere slips

The threads snap in pieces of years

One-out of the womb

Two-walking on my own

Three-talking

Four-basic counting

Five-reading

Six-writing

As each breaks I gain a breath of the air that is self reliance

Fifteen-getting a job

Sixteen-driving a car

Every year that breaks without new skill I get a little closer to suffocating

The last thread stays strong, just before it snaps I regret not cherishing this time

The sphere hangs precariously over me and I realize

Seventeen-college admission, graduation

When the last thread breaks, the sphere falls in slow motion

It shatters the case

It slams into my head

I fall into the ocean of adulthood

Eighteen- I drown

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Comments (1)

niaxrae7Feb 13, 2018

<p>Ever felt like having responsibility is overwhelming? Well you definitely didn’t feel that way as a kid. When you’re young, you feel as if the only way to get what you want is by getting older. But this way of thinking also forces people to grow up too fast. I hope this poem encourages human beings to appreciate every moment of their lives, even though it may feel as if you’re trapped in a vacuum of societal restrictions. </p>