The Thirty-Ninth Song
Written April 27, 2015
Time only pauses but for one day
and it is during this stillness of life that I take
the time to find my own reflection through
the shadows of yesterday, It is during this hesitance
that I log my thoughts into the journals
of tomorrow.
Years ago when I was the mirror of innocence,
I used to celebrate this day as if
the tomorrow I stand within today was miles away.
My mind would always sway
in a way that made me temporarily
rest the stranglehold poverty had over me.
I would always play to the many amusements of the world
Just long enough to drown out the loud
cries of shattered dreams around me.
I saw the tears, but pretended to be blind
to the fears within me, but that didn’t mean
they weren’t there.
I was just a child back then, but time
still only paused but for one day. It was always a moment
that allowed me to smile and roam through
the streets of life freely without sacrifice,
but that didn’t mean the sacrifice wasn’t needed.
Today, as I celebrate the brink of a new decade
in my life, I applaud my own growth as a child
who found away to smile through the challenges
that faced me. I highlight all the times
my adolescence was bullied by prejudice.
Still somehow, I was able to rise above
the difference of my skin and prosper. I recognize
my young adulthood when homophobia
threatened paralyze my mind
into a self-hatred .
Still somehow, I was able to become
a complete man accomplished; a married man
defined and a poetic man inspired. Time only pauses but for one day,
and on this day, my day of birth, I salute
the next chapter as my time on this earth
moves forth.
© 2015
Tarringo T. Vaughan
