REALITY.

Bjorn has challenged us to write narrative poetry, a
story, new or ancient.   I’ve chosen a story that
happens all too often, and how reality has a way
of overtaking youth. 
Submitted to dVerse
September 20, 2018
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He sat in the only room he’d ever known, the Taylor Swift poster on the
 wall, various trophies on the shelf, the baseball he’d hit to score the
winning run in the state championship, the photo of the bass he’d caught
on a fishing trip with his father, the picture of him with Alicia at their senior
prom, along with other treasures that told the story of his young life.  But
now his thoughts were in turmoil and the decisions before him seemed
insurmountable.  A father!  Tim thought of his own father and the things
they’d shared in his 17 years,--the backyard games of catch, the fishing
trips, and the advice his father had given him.   How he wished he’d paid
better attention and been more careful.  But, he and Alicia had fallen
head over heels for each other, and allowed their teenage hormones to
overcome their best intentions.  Now he’s to be a father himself.  At 17.
He wanted to do the right thing.  But, could he finish school,  go to college
and establish himself if he had a wife and a baby to care for?  How could
they tell their parents?  Alicia was as frightened as he.  Yesterday, he was
young and carefree and the world was his oyster.  Today it felt as if the
world sat squarely on his shoulders.  A father!   Tim felt a churning in
his belly.  He felt old already.