Maturing

Maturing

Growin' up ain't easy.

It all began
at the bitter end
with a deep sigh,
and no other way out.

I listened to my child cry out,
Wait!
This story doesn't end
until I close the book
and everyone lives happily ever after.

Now how can I argue
with that voice deep inside,
still too young and afraid
to see a new beginning
in the inexplicable darkness
of another beginning's end.

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Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does.
Love is a battle, love is a war; love is a growing up.
~ James Baldwin