Growing Pains

Growing Pains

They say change is constant

That time will tell,

We’re learning,

And it’ll all be okay -

Yet they stress the skills

Of being prepared for the worst,

Knowing when to stop,

That failure is expected

As we are children and we know nothing

They give us responsibilities;

You choose your future

You choose your life

You choose your story

“Because we trust you,” they say -

But when we trip and fall,

Get anxious

And become human,

Suddenly we need to try harder,

Push ourselves more,

“Be more responsible,” they say

They say change is constant;

But when we sit through

Days and days

Of the same nerves and stress,

All we can whisper back

Are questions, concerns, uncertainty,

The only comforts and reliabilities

When persistently being told

To grow and flourish -

How can a bud blossom into a flower

When it is surrounded by acid rain

And disheveled dirt?

Trembling, shaking, falling

We try to find level ground

Standing upon marbles and quicksand

Whether we drown or trip is inevitable

And the fear that burns like wildfire,

Does little to protect us from the pain,

The unavoidable pain,

Of our future failures

All we can do

Is wait and learn,

Practice and love,

Repeat and perfect

The dance on a floor of melting ice

So that when we ask them next;

“What changed?”

They’ll answer;

“You did”

Skye Erickson