Growing Up

I do not remember…
My first smile,
First laugh,
First steps.

I don’t even remember
Seeing the sun for the first time,
Or hearing the terrifying boom of thunder.

But then the memories click into place,
From the flashes of kindergarten to second grade,
And more coherent galleries of colors
From third to sixth,
And the heartpounding moments of junior high
To the trials and tribulations of high school.

My legs lengthened, and my hair grew and changed,
From the bangs of a first grader,
To the shoulder-length and pin-straight hair
That I continue to keep,
A souvenir of old days.

So many pictures scattered around the house,
Of my tooth smile,
Of my toothless smile,
Of times where I was fearless and desperate,
Desperate for knowledge and to drink in the world,
With the wide, wide eyes of innocence.

Even now, I grasp for that child of me,
Of the good old days,
Of which I cannot remember,
But know that exists somewhere in the pitfalls
Of life.

So I pay tribute to the child,
The child I don’t remember,
By forging forward relentlessly,
And so I will continue,
And honor the child that used to be
Me.