Graduating, cleaning up, and moving on is a part of life. This poem centers on ideas I have recently experienced about moving out of one chapter of life and into the next. A proper transition allows the new chapter to bring along a part of the past. The continuing rhythm forms the launch point for new adventures. Read along and you may figure out what the image below represents.
Those Stars Will Always Shine
The child is gone, flown the nest You pack them up and move the stuff they want, the rest is left. The room of a child is stripped, left vacant and empty, except its not. Memories and miscellany pervade the space. Open the door and breathe in the fragrances; your nose fills with sweaty socks, pet odors, and stale Doritos. Look around and soak in everything left behind the unwanted things prompt recollections, nonetheless Conjure thoughts and dreams and fun times shared whether it's building Lego cities or fighting action figure battles. The toys have disappeared or thrown, in pieces, into a box Worn t-shirts from sizes long ago gather dust in a corner of the closet The paint is all messed up and needs a lot of detail and cleaning A stick figure peeks eerily from the wall around the dresser Kool-aid spots the carpet and Play-doh glues strands together The shade is ripped from constantly being pulled too hard I glance up at the ceiling and chuckle to myself It's dark blue paint with dayglo stars pasted in astrological patterns. Seems like yesterday...we decorated this room for a kid with big dreams Now, that kid graduated ready to explore their own dream The room has a new dream too. It wants a new identity It's time to clear the place out. Remove the dog-eared posters and agonize over third-place trophies and scribbled artwork You hate to throw it out but no one steps up to keep it Once it is all removed, you're left with a well-worn shell of a room yet, its soul feels awakened and yearns for a new start. Fresh beginnings invite energy into your spirit and limbs Plastered holes form a polka dot canvas over these healed walls Your mind now focuses squarely on the future Paint applied generously to the walls. Not a kid's color, gentler The trim is fixed, A shade is bought and hung. Likewise, new bedding, curtains, and pictures for the walls It's a fresh start made over with grown-up tastes straight from IKEA That dark blue ceiling with a universe of stars remains alone Planets and galaxies glow vociferously when darkness rises. Their refracted light navigates the mind into a deep trance to captivate and move you to a celestial state of mind Those stars remember and reign over the memories They still see the kid staring at their glow in awe Wondering to which far-out places their life may lead, and follow dreams like rocket trails deep into that unknown space I'm not glad it's over but I must move on. I cannot, nor should I go back We cannot reach for more if we let our lives stand still That room houses great memories, but it's time to move forward My baby has grown out of childhood. His room has graduated too
Author’s Note
Some moments strike and you know, immediately, you will remember them long after this time has passed. You experience a strong, ominous feeling that something larger is at hand. Just such a feeling captured my mind recently as I witnessed someone pass from child to adult. I have spent a great deal of time reflecting on this transition. The emotions continue to oscillate between embracing the new while trying to let go of the old. The preparation started long ago carried us through to this day of independence and it will continue.
I put a great deal of time in setting up his room and decorating that ceiling. Layers of blue paint and pages of glow-in-the-dark stars. We spent hours playing under that “sky”. I feel blessed to have been a part of that space and his life. Something old, something new, and something dark, dark blue.