Waiting for Tomorrow by Mistee O' C-B

 

I remember you: 
Eyes so bright, 
Lips tickled by unshakeable hope, 
Walk buoyant with uncontrollable optimism, 
On your shoulders you could carry the world 
And nothing lesser 

Tomorrow, we’ll have it all 
You said  
Tomorrow will be our day 
 
Life was more vivid, 
Back then: 
Emotion heaved, 
A touch rippled on the skin 
Like a river 
Words weren’t just words 
They were paintings 
Rich in colour and feeling; 
A provocation was a war 
A small success was a triumph 
A slight falter a fall 
Since isn’t it better to sob and scream 
Than to have no fervour at all?  
 
If only you knew before 

They break your body first 
Each cut, each scar 
Each abrasion 
Carves a better worker 
It is searing at first, 
Visceral 
But don’t worry 
Soon it will be only a dull ache 
For something better 
And eventually 
A hush 
A gradual pacification 
Quiet resignation  
Acceptance numbs the pain  
But no need to think 
You don’t have time to complain 

Well...you sigh 
There’s always tomorrow 

Then they break your spirit 
You wouldn’t notice it 
At first; 
Creeping, like a tiger, 
It comes in the night 
Smothering you, 
Killing you as it sings  
Soft lullabies 
By then it’s a blessing  
When there is no more reflecting, 
No more stressing 
 
I’m just one person, you protest 
I can’t change tomorrow... 

That is when days become 
Duller, 
When a touch is just a touch 
And emotion is rusted by time 
What used to be words of passion 
Whispered in snatches of euphoria profound 
Loving caresses from the heart 
Now mumbled, recycled 
Taken from the lost and found 
Cheap and common like stubbed-out  
Cigarettes lying on the ground 

I remember you, 
The round face you once had 
Now riveted with lines; 
The jaunty poetry 
That never quite rhymed 
You brimmed with your own creativity 
But that has since dried up; 
You are no more than a vessel for  
Other’s words, 
Other’s beliefs, 
Other’s voices 
 
Perhaps someday they  
Will learn 
Tomorrow never comes 

By Mistee – Y9