Chasing Pavements Poem by CherylAnn Helena Goh

Take a walk
Let your feet rub off the hopscotch squares you tattooed on the pavements with chalk
And remember
How you used to stand in the rain
Letting the water shoot off your fingertips
And you
Pretended to be Spiderman

Take a walk
Let yourself get lost in the symphony of the cacophony
And remember how you used to count the number of yellow taxis that passed by
Telling yourself that if you could get up to a hundred
You’d be able to fly
Then when you jumped and kissed the floor with your face again
You just counted to 200

Take a walk
Let the 9 year old girl by the block try to sell you lemonade
And remember how you used to call yourself George Weasley
In the hopes that if you searched hard enough

One day
You’d find someone who’s name was Fred
Now
Run along on your way to work and ignore
Ignore the stories you spray painted onto streets and graphitised on the walls
Because you are too busy reading “How to be a Millionaire” on your ipad

Forget about the high school band you started
When you were 15
How you thought it was the coolest thing in the world
That you knew 3 guitar chords
And enjoy
The elevator music that plays
While you’re stuck in an office
Because you grew up and told yourself that music won’t get you anywhere

Drink your Starbucks coffee as you pass that 9 year old kid trying to shove her home made lemonade into your face
And try your hardest
Not to feel bad for her
Try your hardest not to let your life be summarised into a cup of decaf coffee and a computer every day from 9 to 5

Go back
And remind yourself that superheroes are super because although the whole world has no clue who they are
They do

Stand in your room and dance to the Beatles
And remind yourself that although limits are human
You believe in God
Go back to that little girl and tell her to stop selling lemonade
Because when life gives you lemons
Make orange juice and let everyone wonder how the heck you did it

Let her smile blind out all the streets lamps
And tonight when you go home
Turn on the dark and make a wish
And remember
The reason we can’t see shooting stars anymore is because the city light are too bright