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Grown-Up

You Changed.

By Bailey JohnstonPublished 6 years ago 1 min read
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You used to stand

on the bathroom stool, leaning

close to the mirror

mommy's lipstick in hand.

Smearing lips with red,

eyes glowing as you made yourself up to look

like all the pretty girls in all the magazines.

Then you changed.

You wiped off those vibrant colors,

tossing those memories out of your mind

like stained tissues thrown in trash cans.

You used to don elegant dresses,

all gold and tulle and satin.

Entering a world

of princesses and knights with

dragons to slay.

Then you changed.

You tucked those memories away.

Packed them into the deepest recesses of your mind,

like the boxes

storing those gowns,

all gold and tulle and satin.

You used to throw yourself

into the spotlight your mother

and father let you bask in.

Performing Swan Lake on camera

with a missing-teeth smile.

Then you changed.

You decided you weren't

worthy of being in scrapbook pictures

and home videos,

Christmas cards stuck to refrigerator doors,

Ducked for cover at the sight

of a camera lens.

You started to build walls.

Surrounding yourself

with bricks and stones instead of

multi-colored building blocks.

You changed.

You shut yourself inside your mind

and not inside your

crayon-covered cardboard citadel.

Imagination replaced with trepidation.

You changed.

Because life isn't the same

as it was all those years ago

when you sat in your room playing house.

Playing grown-up.

sad poetry
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About the Creator

Bailey Johnston

My passions include: mental health awareness, gender equality, self-acceptance, music, writing (mostly fiction, trying my hand at poetry) and pugs.

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