Then And Now : A Full Circle

Sometimes, the simplest lines carry the most depth. Here is a beautiful poem about the lessons time teaches us.

Then

I bruised my forehead

For stitches that stung

So terrible, I cried

I was seven.

 

Now

I shrieked, as it hurt

And didn’t seem to cease

In agony I lay

More than a day

To push a human out

I was thirty one.

 

Then

I fell ill

Missed an exam

Sobbed at having lost

My chance to a glorious future

That, on my mind I had etched

I was fifteen.

 

Now

I worked

Behind a desk

Waiting for the two days,

I could forget what I did

Often doubtful,

But still hoped

It will all mean something,

One day

I was twenty five.

 

Then

When my throat got a knot,

A teddy bear swallowed my tears

He said he’d die for me

I believed

He’s lying to you, said Dad

I left him

And grieved for months

I was eighteen.

 

Now

We stay up all night

Tacitly taking turns

To hold the little one

When he whimpers

And can’t say

Where it hurts,

And how much

I am thirty three.

 

Then

Dad was strong

Mom stood upright

Together they fought the world

To shelter me,

Under their wings

I sulked to break free

I was a child.

 

Now

They are wearied

In empty nest,

Anticipate my visit

Rubbing their eyes,

Under metal rimmed glasses

I long to return home

I am a worrying Mom, myself.

 

Then

Pain was something else

Like the world was going to end

Like it will never get better

Like it can never get any worse

 

Now

Pain is different

Like it is here to stay

As a constant companion

Like however big,

It will always be smaller

Than me.

 

Pic credit: Camera Eye Photography (Used under a CC license)

Originally published at the author’s blog.