Hope Poem by Curt Simmons

Listen to me sing a song of disease,
My heart aches and beats thoughts of grief like it has a mind of its own,
Where it stores memories,
Memories that take me back to a time,
A time where my emotions haven’t matured into nostalgic shards of glass,
Like spikes of camouflage,
A natural defense that protects me from predatory words and stares,
Glare at me,
Like an alien,
A Bird without wings because I am not normal,
Even to myself I am an ocean of mystery with species of characteristics and opinions yet to be discovered,
But that time I remember,
Hope was still a word that I could define,
That I could believe in,
A time where being an adult seemed so far away yet attainable,
Something that could almost just barely be touched with fingertips of curiosity and admiration,
Now this brings me back to hope,
Hopefully I will be something worth living,
Hopefully I will grow into a man that can stand on his own,
Without codependency as a crutch and with passion filled with fire, .
Enough to engulf the sun.