Growing Up

A poem about growing up and what you sometimes lose in the process.

As I grow old and wise

I have to pay a price.

The world grows small and cold

Because I got too old.

My dog is just a loving friend,

And not my fellow hound.

I’ve searched the world for meaning,

But nothing I have found.

My friends are only strangers,

And not my fellow knights.

The days are long and busy,

And lonely are the nights.

The treehouse is not my kingdom,

And I am not a king.

My yard is not my playground,

And I am not a kid.

I’m social, smart and wealthy,

The world is at my feet,

But no one holds my hand

When I walk down the street.

My voice is deep and heavy.

My arms are big and long.

My walk is straight and steady.

My heart is kind and strong.

But I’m no longer young,

My smile is wide but fake.

There is no drug prescription

To heal my deepest ache.

The elves belong to stories,

And fairies don’t exist.

My childhood is just a shadow.

A past long gone in mist.

Author's Note

This is the first poem I wrote that made me feel as if I actually can say something through my poetry.
How does it make you feel?
Have you ever felt as if growing up has made you lose some of the magic of being a child? Does being a grown up make you more aware of the loneliness of being human?
Do you think it's possible to grow up and still maintain some of the innocence and imagination of a child?

Reviews

[jacob erin-cilberto]

oh my yes to this piece...childhood gone, the magic gone, the reckless abandon...loving through rose colored glass....everything seems smaller...i revisited Ryegate VT in 1998...40 years since being there as a kid...the old farmhouse where we stayed, still there and looking beautiful as ever...but much smaller.
everything shrinks as we age, including us.
nicely done here.,
j.

[@_av_poetry]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I wrote this when I was 15 which is quite a young age but somehow I could already sense what was coming. Humanity's common, unavoidable fate.

[BlackPrince]

Here you perfectly sum up innocence lost! But it is important that we go back to our inner child, in creativity, kindness, forgiveness, playfulness...

[john l smith]

I hope it is possible to maintain at least the child's imagination.
The grow old thing needs remodeling but at the very least we need to hang on to the joy of a free imagination to counteract the sore joints and fading faculties of old age
I think the poem relates to a very large crowd
Dave B

[Relic]

I just posted a review last night discussing the sadness of becoming an adult with responsibilities. We lose the child in us and the reality of where we are in life cannot be swept under the carpet with fantasies of carefree youth. Making big decisions and possibly doing them alone is hard.

We all need someone in our lives to push us along and ease stress. When no one is there, the world can look pretty gloomy. Your words reflect that perfectly.

You're very good at your rhymes. They don't seem forced and they make sense allowing the poem to flow from one stanza to the next. You've expressed yourself very well in this. I hope things get better for you. And please keep in mind, you speak for many.

[@_av_poetry]

Thank you. I love rhyming and my biggest pet peeve in poetry is poems that rhyme but make no sense, and my biggest fear that my rhyming will affect the meaning of my poems negatively. I'm glad you think that's not the case with this one.

It makes me very happy that you think I speak for many. Thats all I ever wanted from my art, to touch even a single person's soul so that they maybe can find comfort in knowing they're not alone.

[Planet x]

its an amazing poem , it really is
of course growing up make you lose , who doesn't miss the childhood? after all we only remember the good memories and forget about the bad times.
Yes , when you grow up you feel lonely , no matter if you are surrounded with people , I think its because you lose your freedom , you can't do what you want as you could when you were young. You have responsibilities , you need to care about money and stuff , you lose the fun , you hardly have anyone to share this with , there come the loneliness

Which we could maintain some of the innocence , we might keep the imagination
That's why we write , right?

[@_av_poetry]

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts. Maybe you're right. Maybe we do write to gain back a little bit of our childhood innocence and magic. I feel bas for people who have not discovered this form of expression and struggle with their feelings.

[sette]

this is one good writing we tend to look back and be filled with regrets but most of the times i feel that moving forward especially after realizing that life is not filled with rose tinted glasses make me realize that despite the pains life is still something to cherish for

[@_av_poetry]

Thanks for taking the time to read and share your thoughts. :)