To My Younger Self
I have some things to say to you
I look back at you,
So carefree and full of life,
Ignorant of what it means to exist in this world,
Since you are busy creating your own,
Under the umbrella of protection,
You lived in your own fairytale,
Dressing like a princess,
Queen of your own realm,
The only demons you fought,
Were the ones books gave you,
But you always had a hero to frighten them away.
I look at you with envy and sadness,
I have some things to tell you:
That child’s heart is long gone,
Replaced with the stoic hardness of an adult’s,
Where every day is a calculated play,
What face to wear and what words to choose,
There is no room for that carefree child.
The demons are nothing like the books,
They come sugar-coated and you can’t tell them apart,
You must make decisions after weighing the scales and often there is no balance,
You will often question why and there is usually no answer,
You will see things and hear things,
Things which you will learn to accept,
You will weep for that child and all lost children,
For somehow in God’s world,
Humanity has failed,
And all you can do is try and hold on,
Try and make sense of the chaos,
Try and be true to yourself,
Many a time it will be hard,
But like Frodo who bore the ring of evil
And triumphed,
So shall you.
© Anannya Mondal, 2024
