poetry – Page 91 – Picking Up Roots

Body Aches

the body aches,
deep within the soul of the bones;
the bill comes due
for the excesses of youth
and a lifetime of living;
there is no regret,
just a constant reminder
that time continues to move forward
and so too must we

Life is the Mind

much of living
is a choice of the mind;
we decide how to spend
the banked hours of our lives
though we are unconscious
of the transaction -
of making the choice to trade time -

our days are determined by our beliefs,
we have constructed our own limitations
with the words in our minds:
"I can't"
"I don't know how"
"there isn't time"
echo within the cavernous walls
keeping us from our full potential,

we determine how we are hurt,
though it is all perception of the mind,
habits practiced through the years -
now second nature -
keep us held down;

we are our own restraints;
we are strong,
we are safe,
but are we alive?

Invincible Youth

the broken promise of youth
is it's invincibility;
stolen from us
by the first adult
who teaches us the valuable lesson
about consequences
in an effort to save us future pain;
clipping the wings
of our fragile courage -

a voice haunts out thoughts
as we mull our futures,
our hopes and dreams;
failing to launch - 
we dare not 
out of fear -
in the direction
of who we might become -

there must come a day
when the call of our future 
will be too loud;
when we will have learned
to rise about the voices of doubt -
our collection of fears -
to fulfill the promise of our youth,
to become who we are called to be.