Home
Young Writers Project

Search form

  • Login
  • DONATE
  • CREATE
    • RECENT POSTS
    • THE DAILY READ
    • RECENT VISUAL ART
  • COMMUNITY
    • TINY WRITES
    • BOOK CLUB
    • ARTSPACE
    • LINE BREAK: Podcast archive
    • YWP MENTORS
    • YWP ALUMNI ADVISORS
  • CHALLENGES
    • WEEKLY CHALLENGES 22-23
    • JOURNALISM CHALLENGES
    • THE GREAT ARTISTS CHALLENGE
    • THE GREAT POETS CHALLENGE
  • CONTESTS & EVENTS
    • TEENAGER: Watch site for contest results soon!
    • TRANSATLANTIC WORKSHOP! Reuben & Alex April 8
  • PUBLICATIONS
    • THE VOICE
    • ANTHOLOGIES
      • ANTHOLOGY 13 VIDEO
    • MEDIA PARTNERS
    • SPECIAL ISSUES: The ELM 2021-22
      • The ELM 2020-21
      • The ELM 2019-20
  • ABOUT
    • ABOUT YWP
    • QUICK FAQs
    • YWP NEWSLETTER
    • HOW THE SITE WORKS
    • RECENT HIGHLIGHTS
    • ANNUAL REPORT 21-22
    • PERMISSION FORM
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS OF USE
    • CONTACT US
  • Donate
  • LOG IN/JOIN
Previous Post
Next Post
Feb 26
poetry challenge: Wonder
Frostbite

A child forever

I want to never move on
And yet I want change.
I want to see my friends again 
So time must pass
But I do not want my time to pass.
I turn thirteen 
In a week.
I do not want to forever be labeled "teenager" or "adult."
I am a child.
I still cry at movies and books.
I still run up to dogs on the street and pet them.
I still play childish games.
Does this make me a child?
I no longer go to bed at 8.
I no longer have "playdates."
I no longer want to play pretend or go to the playground.
Does this make me a teenager?
I hope not.
I want to remain in my childhood
But time has passed too quickly,
Much of it taken,
Less of it spent.
Why do I have to go?
Forced into this state of being
Where I have to pretend I don't want to go play tag with the kids in the yard,
Where I have to pretend I want to listen to the adults' dull chatter,
Where I have to get good grades,
Where I have to stop being a bookworm,
Where I have to fall in love.
It is too much.
Why can I not be a child?
Thinking simple thoughts,
Playing pretend,
Climbing trees,
Reading books,
Not being judged in any way,
Just being themselves.
Why can adults not be this way?
I am still a child, I wouldn't understand
Why must I turn into an adult?
What defines a teenager?
Age? Life?
Love? Knowledge?
What makes me me?
It is no longer being myself.
Now what shapes me is others.
Is this what I want to be?
No.
Come quickly Peter Pan –
I am waiting.
  • Frostbite's blog
  • Sprout
  • Log in or register to post comments
Posted: 02.26.21
About the Author: Frostbite
MSG / CONTACT
RECENT LOVES
  • for those waiting to exist:
  • Jelly and Marshmellows
  • Favorite color
  • Foggy Philo
  • Playing records on the moon
RECENT COMMENTS
  • Yes I agree amaryllis, this
  • I love this poem! So
  • Aw I'm so sorry for you, I
  • Oh my gosh, yum!
  • Yes I tried posting artwork

Other Posts

  • A mask
    My favorite earringMetal bicycles dangling More like tangling in my long hair Read more
    in poetry 0 Comments
  • A Dream
    (Please do not read if you are young or easily scared or don't like violence) Read more
    in nonfiction 2 Comments
  • Why?
    I witness injustices often now. Read more
    in nonfiction 0 Comments

Discussion

Comments

  1. [email protected]
    Feb 27, 2021

    Yes! Imagine if adults held onto a child's wonder and playfulness and all those amazing, open-hearted qualities of childhood! What a different, better world it would be! And I love the final lines in this poem. The perfect ending (or maybe it's a beginning!)

    YWP Executive Director
    • Log in or register to post comments
  1. zazu
    Feb 27, 2021

    This is a very relatable poem. Thank you for writing it!

    Zazu

    • Log in or register to post comments
  • ABOUT
  • DONATE
  • PUBLICATIONS
  • SUBSCRIBE TO NEWSLETTER
  • JOIN/LOGIN
YWP is a creative, online community of teen writers and visual artists. We're based in Burlington, VT, and we welcome young creators from anywhere!
Young Writers Project | 47 Maple St., Suite 216 | Burlington, VT 05401
501(c)(3) nonprofit established in 2006
Contact: Susan Reid, Executive Director: [email protected]; (802) 324-9538