My nephew notices nearly everything around
he says saaad cooorn! because the corn outside
has now turned brown.

He knows a few colors that consist of yellow, red,
purple and green.. he likes to read and sometimes he'll sing.

My little nephew is getting too big..
He's at the age just before monsters
are under his bed,
I don't want him to experience that yet.

But someday he just might, and that's okay
we all grow up eventually.

The search for love should not be played;
what a sick and twisted game
you are forcing me into

I should not have to strategize my next move
in fear you may surpass me
on this ridiculous board

I should be able to move swiftly without thought or worry
about who is winning or losing
Because we will either both win or both lose

No more childs play;
it is time to grow up
because love is not a game

Life is a light bulb.
We begin this life as children,
fresh out of the box,
faithful that the light will always shine.
Smiling faces are illuminated
with careless smiles.
As we age,
the flawless glass embarks on a journey
to dusty, *****, darkness.
Flickering on again, off again.
Flicker, flicker, flicker.
The more we grow,
the dimmer life becomes.
Gleamy turns to gloomy.
Bright ideas fade into obscurity.
Slowly but surely it begins to fade to grey.
The warmth gradually dissolves.
We desperately, frantically search for
the childish light we once held,
and shared to mightily with the world.
We soon realize,
there is no more light to be shared.
Flicker, flicker, flicker.
Suddenly,
All too suddenly. . .

The bulb burns out.
We are left in the cold.

My life is a light bulb
and it's flickering away.

Do you remember when you were five and the worst thing that could happen was scraping your knee?

At what point did you realize there are worse things out there?

At what point did you realize mommy wasn't perfect and daddy wasn't invincible?

At what point did you realize you're not a princess and you never will be ?

At what point
did you grow up?

I don't know why growing up is so hard for me.
Maybe it's because things are already so painfully real to me..
people say that after highschool life gets real.
I don't know if I will be able to handle life if it gets more real.
Everyone who grows up changes.
I want to change, I hate who I am.
But I think that I will change for the worse.
I think that's why growing up is so scary for me.
I don't want to keep changing this way.

People ask me when I grew up
I don't really know.
My brother said its when my sister left for college.
My sister says its when high school got really hard.
My mom said its when I set my priorities straight.
I don't know.
I don't think I have grown up yet, I think I just got quiet. I stopped talking. I just stopped kinda everything.
I stopped watching movies with my dad.
I stopped singing in the car with people.
I stopped telling people how I felt.
I started hiding.
I started writing poetry.
I started faking smiles.
I don't think I've grown up yet..
I just started stopping.

I've been braiding my dreams
into a pretty silver rope to
Keep me from forgetting how
To see things in a positive light.
But somehow I got tangled,
And lately all these dreams
Have felt more like a noose
Than anything else.
Maybe it's time to cut all these
Naive wishes into pieces.
Maybe it's time to kick the chair.
Maybe this is what it means to
Grow Up.

Children grow up
with jump ropes
barbie dolls
and suckers tangled in their hair

Children grow up
in daddy's shoes
and mommy's dresses
and Pixy Stix sugar in their laps

Children grow up
feeling the boom of fireworks
wading in the cold pool water
and pop rocks dancing on their tongue

Children grow up
with secrets kept from them
and told to them
and pockets filled with smarties wrappers as bribes

Children grow up
with dirt under their nails
and rain water soaking their clothes
and taffy between their teeth

Children grow up
with the wonders and horrors of the world
all on a sugar high
so they never learn the difference