Poetry & Art

The Inner Child

When I look at you,
my younger self flashes before my eyes

The five-year-old me,
I saw her dancing in the backyard,
staring at the sky
where the rainbow was up high

Look at that!
Rainbow made of vibrant crayons
Sometimes it looks like my dessert
“Can I eat that rainbow, Mom? That looks yummy! How does it taste? Have you picked and savored it?”

You keep me young at heart
even when my hair turns gray
and years of worry leave me astray

Your eyes,
Oh, your eyes…
When I see them my hopes arise
They tell me:
It is ok to be wrinkly and silly
Old and flawed

I see you there
dancing
humming to the tune of the Old MacDonald Had a Farm
“E-I-E-I-O….”
immersed in joy and laughter

You tell me:
Regrets are inevitable and shivery
And bad decisions don’t have to mean misery
Try again, you’ll make it then!

Funny how the less experienced
Teach me how to live to the fullest

Like this post? View similar content here: Childhood

Comment
by Septa Mellina

I start my mornings in the kitchen, with a cup of coffee, then to my desk later in the day: writing, embroidering, reading books, or listening to the quietness. I started writing at 8 years old, mostly in Indonesian, my native language. Then, when I was 15 years old, my short stories were published by Horison, a respectable Indonesian literature magazine. I occasionally joined spoken word poetry in Jakarta, Indonesia. I enjoy loud, expressive poetry performance as much as I love sitting by our apartment window in solitude. I still believe that writing is therapy.


Website

More From Poetry & Art

The Sand Dollar

by Deeya Foreman

friends.

by Rocío Romero

In the Conflict of Modern Ideas

by Daniela Gutierrez

Your voice is a treasure

by Candace Taylor

My eyes are mirroring

by Simona Prilogan