Pink_Ink_Amber:
I miss the summers when the days felt bright and free,
Before everyone kept asking who I’m supposed to be.
Now I chase echoes of scraped knees and muddy skies,
Wishing I’d known those small moments were my prize.
Reece:
Back then, before anxiety had a hold on me,
When peace and joy were as common as a breeze.
Those days, they seem to be long gone.
Yet, I remain, growing older and moving on.
Pink_Ink_Amber:
Beneath the laughter in those pictures, shadows start to creep,
The questions in my head grew teeth and dragged me from my sleep.
I traded fireflies in jars for blue light on my face,
Scrolling through a thousand lives that make me feel out of place.
Reece:
I see a stranger,
In places I've gone but can't remember.
Was that baby,
Smiling so blissfully, really me?
I've dried my eyes from countless tears,
As my fight-or-flight stimulates my fears.
Why can't I just go back a few years?
Pink_Ink_Amber:
We used to measure life in grass stains, not in likes and views,
In games that ran past dinnertime, not deadlines, tests, and news.
Now every thought feels magnified, like we’re beneath a lens,
Afraid of failing silently while watching all our friends.
Reece:
Oh, friends, the good, the bad, the ugly.
Some I wish I'd cherished, others I wish I never met.
People found their cliques, and I look back, solemnly,
Wishing that I had tried, since now we're out of time.
A new chapter is upon us, a new trial that eludes us;
Why can't we return to simpler times,
Where such banes didn't cause a fuss?
Pink_Ink_Amber:
We can't rewind the tape of time or step through childhood’s door,
But maybe all those aching years still shaped what we are for.
So here we stand, a little bruised, yet somehow still alive,
Carrying our younger selves within — the part that helps us survive.
Apr 9
Apr 9, 2026 at 8:51 PM UTC
Pink_Ink_Amber:
I miss the summers when the days felt bright and free,
Before everyone kept asking who I’m supposed to be.
Now I chase echoes of scraped knees and muddy skies,
Wishing I’d known those small moments were my prize.
Reece:
Back then, before anxiety had a hold on me,
When peace and joy were as common as a breeze.
Those days, they seem to be long gone.
Yet, I remain, growing older and moving on.
Pink_Ink_Amber:
Beneath the laughter in those pictures, shadows start to creep,
The questions in my head grew teeth and dragged me from my sleep.
I traded fireflies in jars for blue light on my face,
Scrolling through a thousand lives that make me feel out of place.
Reece:
I see a stranger,
In places I've gone but can't remember.
Was that baby,
Smiling so blissfully, really me?
I've dried my eyes from countless tears,
As my fight-or-flight stimulates my fears.
Why can't I just go back a few years?
Pink_Ink_Amber:
We used to measure life in grass stains, not in likes and views,
In games that ran past dinnertime, not deadlines, tests, and news.
Now every thought feels magnified, like we’re beneath a lens,
Afraid of failing silently while watching all our friends.
Reece:
Oh, friends, the good, the bad, the ugly.
Some I wish I'd cherished, others I wish I never met.
People found their cliques, and I look back, solemnly,
Wishing that I had tried, since now we're out of time.
A new chapter is upon us, a new trial that eludes us;
Why can't we return to simpler times,
Where such banes didn't cause a fuss?
Pink_Ink_Amber:
We can't rewind the tape of time or step through childhood’s door,
But maybe all those aching years still shaped what we are for.
So here we stand, a little bruised, yet somehow still alive,
Carrying our younger selves within — the part that helps us survive.
Another collaborative poem, this time with Pink_Ink_Amber! Awesome writer and very friendly, you should definitely check out some of her work!
