Strands of Time

Class:10:Across Time and Space

It's another Sunday,

I'm in school,we are making pots out of clay for ECA,

Every time I think I'm almost done,

Something goes wrong and I'm back to square one.

I grit my teeth and go through the motions.

Till I've done my best and passed the test.

So I can go home only to be back again.

Year after year, I'll be here

Till there's nothing to gain.

I'm walking down a lonely street,

But I can still hear the beat,

Of children's laughter as they play tick-tack-toe.

I can still see that  chalky street.

It had all happened just yesterday.

But last night's rain had washed it all away.

For a moment, I stand amazed.

Dazed,with the painful realization,

That time never waits for anyone.

With each step forward is my life being erased as well?

Just what am I leaving behind?

From this thought, stems the sorrow that i carry in my heart.

Tell me, if I die today,

What is there to remember me by tomorrow?

I look at the calendar, on top of my desk,

Flipping to the summary page.

A year had never felt so small.

12 months feel like nothing at all.

I couldn't help but wonder is this what my life is going to be like?

16 years have gone by and I sigh with discontent.

Because I have nothing to show, they were all well spent.

I want to give my life a meaning,

Make it a story worth telling.

Now I'm no Mother Teresa or Mahatma Gandhi,

But I do love writing and through it sharing,

The thoughts that I otherwise cannot express.

It was in eighth  grade I first started in a site,

And in ninth I decided I want to be a writer,

That gave my parents a fright.

I want to leave  something behind for the people,

Even if they are just words,

That will help someone be kind,

Help someone out of a bind.

Words that will stand by them ,

When life gets tough,

And they're told they aren't good enough.

I want to remind them that this is not the end,

It's a windingly long road to adulthood,

And that we can turn the tables at the next bend.

Through my experiences I want to,

Touch the hearts of my fellow peers at every age.

Bring smiles to their faces,

Across time, gender and races.

At times I feel the burden of such a dream,

When chances of it coming true seem slim.

I console myself saying:

Just because every idea out there appears exhausted,

Doesn't mean there's nothing left to give.

It is with this heart full of hope,

That I have learnt to cope,

With the pressure that comes,

While walking this path.

If you'll allow me,

I'd like to help you,

Down this treacherous one-way,

Road to adulthood.

Author's Note: I wrote this poem during the transitionary period between 10 and 11. I had written this for Queen's Commonwealth  Essay Writing Competition 2015 and as a last gift to the school I was graduating  from. The theme was :  A  Young Commonwealth. The topic I chose was :" What do you hope to achieve in your lifetime?"  Alas, I didn't win anything. ;)