Written by Farida Amr. Edited by Rachelle Kasilag and Isabella Romine.
Artwork by Cai Xia Lee.

Soft grasses tickle
The bare soles of my feet.
A playful dance that I
Never even noticed
In my giggling rush
Towards home.
Yearning to grasp
Treasured glimpses of mother
Putting on pearls and big-girl shoes.
Fluffed up pillows
Covered in worn teddy bears.
Easy sleep that I
Never even noticed
In my giggling rush
Towards my father’s office.
Elated to try on
His fragile reading glasses
And leaf through all the papers
About grown up things, in grown up words.
Awkward hallway smiles
From a boy with a pimpled face.
Bright eyes that I
Never even noticed
In my giggling rush
Towards the bathroom.
Excited to share
A stolen tube of lip gloss
That tasted of cherry and adulthood.
Rickety lunch tables
Rocked by howling laughter.
Ethereal moments that I
Never even noticed
In my giggling rush
Towards the Head Office.
Unable to stand
The wait for a cap and gown,
My golden getaway ticket to maturity.
The weight of days
Leaves tender indents on my heart
And anxious twitches in my eyes.
I find myself longing.
Longing for
Soft grasses,
Fluffed up pillows,
Hallway smiles,
Lunch tables.
Longing for the
slipping diamond droplets.
A wasting away that I
Never even noticed.