The Child in my Mind - By: Cory Bautista

The child in my mind

jumps in puddles

where others will walk

they dance in silent roads under starry skies

for nobody to see but themselves

to the music of their own joy

that no one else can hear or replicate

wisps of clouds become galloping horses

the sky a painting of shapes; a canvas of vastness beyond

filled by the brushes of imagination from those who look upon it

in awe rather than neutral acceptance.

who dreams of planets and stars billions of light years away

and picture themselves among them

a glittering orb of light in the dark

the color to the pitch blackness of space.

the child in my mind

hears music and leads me through the recesses of my thoughts

creating entire movies to the beat

making characters from the scraps of ideas that I tried to erase in pursuit of maturity

helping them up

dusting them off

with stubborn refusal

of letting them go

the child in my mind

fills their room with more than furniture

they line the walls with laughter

and memories

a kaleidoscope of colors beyond human comprehension

where the real world lacks saturation.

they kick up swaths of leaves

after I just raked them into neat piles

they lay in bed

and hold a sword spun from light against the monsters in the dark.

the child in my mind

takes my hand and walks alongside me

reminding me of the joy in life when I cannot find it.

Please give a detailed explanation about the meaning and main idea of this poem.

This poem is about how even as we grow, a part of our child self remains within our mind. Others may call it immaturity, but a youthful outlook on life can be useful at times and help us out of dark places when we need it most.

Please explain your writing and thought process regarding this poem.

My own experiences of my childhood and how the effects reemerge now in my teenage years became a thought at the forefront of my mind. So I decided to just let my thoughts surrounding it flow onto the page and see what happens, eventually resulting in this poem. I imagine reading this to a younger me, assuring them that they are still important to me even now.

Why did you choose to write this poem?

Many feel pressured to grow up and mature as quickly as possible, sometimes at the expense of their mental health. Despite the mostly positive tone, much of my childhood was spent as an outcast. I want to assure others in the same boat that you are not alone, it is okay to be different, and it can be an amazing thing.

Do you have any tips or anything to share with the youth writers who may be reading this?

When you feel like writing, let yourself dump everything onto the page. It doesn't need to make sense at first, but as you rearrange it, it'll come into focus.