Grown Up


How did such a little child 
get trapped inside of me? 
And would someone please tell me 
when childhood ceased to be? 

When was I ever foolish? 
When could i make mistakes? 
When did people expect less?
The toll on me this takes. 

Allowances for my youth - 
never were they given. 
Codes of conduct into me, 
ever being driven.

I wish I had a childhood,
some time to just enjoy. 
Often I am criticized 
for want of fun or toy. 

But the time forever gone, 
the days have long gone past. 
I wish someone had told me 
that it would never last. 

Since when is such a young child 
big choices told to make? 
Outward shows of confidence 
need all I have to fake. 

Unsure of all the answers 
to each question I find. 
Where is the famed big picture? 
Why do i feel so blind?

Each choice I make, a pathway; 
each moment, a portal. 
Determining my finish -
I am only mortal.

All the friends that I may make, 
and the things that I say - 
all these things and so much more 
I choose every day. 

Some people I may soon hurt, 
and others I may heal. 
I must be very careful - 
I know how they must feel. 

I wonder am I alone, 
or are others like me?
Since I have shown you my heart, 
now through my eyes come see. 


(c)1998 by Robert H. Harrison