Child Within

[tardy cliff]

Her eyes are wide with wonder
As they capture the beauty
And the mystery
Of the world.
Blind to cruelty.

Her tiny fingers grip my hand.
I feel her innocence
Like a light mist around us,
And I am refreshed with her youth.

She runs through the woods,
Collecting the flowers of weeds
And arranging them into bouquets
Worthy of a bride.

She giggles and laughs
At the smallest form of pleasure.
She captures the frogs in the pond
And makes them a home
In her little swimming pool.
She sleeps with infinite peace
Displayed delicately
In the features of her face.

When I see her,
I am reminded of me
So long ago.

Me before I rushed
Into the world
And picked up
Some of its weight.

Me before I knew
The evils that existed.

Me before I knowingly
Chose that evil for myself.

Me when I believed everything
Any adult told me.

Sweet, innocent me,
Fresh as the shining dew
In the light of dawn,
With eyes that shone
Like all the stars.

With eyes empty
Of all wickedness
And overflowing
With tears of joy.

This child is still in me.
And each time I discover
Something evil
Or do
Something wicked,
I am giving her
A new sin to bear.

I am giving
This little girl
Gripping my fingers
A new burden to carry.

I slowly and painfully
Kill
The child within.

@sharp solstice
@jovial imp
@drowsy belfry
@harsh cloud

@lilac meteor
@plush ivy

Another one of my old ones... (So busy!)

This one was inspired by someone dear to me. She was around four years old at the time :3

Anyway, be kind to yourself and remember to leave room for wonder

[plush ivy]

The tone of this composition has this essence of softness, love and protectiveness. The innocence depicted through the imagery is awesome as always.
I love the line - Collecting the flowers of weeds and arranging them into bouquets worthy of a bride. The comparison of how the Poet is reminded of their own innocent chilhood years builds up real nice. One can feel the disappointment, guilt, helplessness the conclusion carries. Good work :))

[lilac meteor]

The way you captured the transition and how responsibility affects it while we still wanna keep the inner child alive but there seems to have no other option. Also a very beautiful atmosphere throughout. Thanks for sharing, great one.

I have been busy as I have exams going and thus the late feedbacks. Keep tagging me whenever you post. I'll gradually read them when I have time.

[tardy cliff]

LOL dw about it :D

[plush ivy]

The flowers of weeds thing got me too, but for a different reason

[bitter bobcat]

*The flowers of weeds

thing got me too, but for a

different reason*

- doctorhunger

[plush ivy]

Just the idea that she's collecting these thorny, grassy dandelions, but to her, it might as well be a bouqet

man, this one cuts deep

anything about kids really gets me in the heart, cause I didn't really have a childhood

and I hear people my age always saying the next generation is hopeless

or that they're stupid

but I think, honestly, kids are better

as in, better than us

the narrator knows that this little girl is worth far more than they're worth

[bitter bobcat]

*the narrator knows

that this little girl is worth

far more than they're worth*

- doctorhunger

[plush ivy]

at least that's how I interpret it

and he doesn't want to let her into the real world, because he knows once he does, she can't get her innocence back

I mean, the message of the poem is so obvious, but there's no moral

there's no lesson

there's no wisdom that teaches you how to prevent it

and there's no advice on how to save her

damn man, I gotta back up and recollect my thoughts

I don't even know what I'm saying anymore

alright, I'm back lol

Look man

(Me saying "Look man", like I've thought of a point I was trying to make, only for me to sit here, unsure of what to say)

I guess all I'm trying to say is that children are simply better than us

but it's up to us to make sure they don't end up like we do

thanks for bringing attention to that fact with your poetry

I can always count on you to say what needs to be said, even if we hadn't realized it was waiting to be mentioned

You've gotten pretty good at that from what I've noticed