Hallway Poem by Cheryl Cheng

It's dark, it's empty, except for doors.
Your footsteps echo up and down.

The creak of the door gives you the chills,
And you peek in. Bad idea.
It's Guilt! And how horrid it looks.
It flashes a throat-lump at you.
But you close the door, and with caution,
Open the next one.

In a dusty corner, you notice a chest.
Inside are your long lost toys.
Old memories float out, stretching and cuddling you.
You leave this door open.

With a light in your step, you peek into the next door.
A terrible sight burns into your eyes.
It is yourself, recovering a buried and hated scene.

Sobbing, you lock the door and reach for the other.
It's dim and blurry here.
There's a hand stroking you.
There are coos of love, and a loving face.
You see your chubby hand pull at hair.

You push this door wide open.
You are still terrified at the next one.
The next room is stacked with papers.
As, Fs, Ds, C, s Bs, Excellents.
And you leave a tiny slit open,
With pride, and shame, in your heart.

There are still many doors,
But you feel overwhelmed.
You notice one big double sliding door,
With a sign engraved onto it: `
'Beyond here is what is yet to be
And after that is what is yet to see.'

With curiousity, you step up to it.
The doors slide open without a sound.
A white light shines through,
It brightens until you can't stand it,
And you stumble your way in...

To be continued...