Where are we headed?

Where are we headed? If lucky we see the world through clouded lenses, at least as a child. With this view we are entered into a blissful ignorance. Society is kind, our thoughts so far from harsh realities. Perhaps childhood is prolonged into adulthood, the bud of knowledge growing far from polluted air. If not, the curtain is pulled down rapidly at the termination of youth. Shocked by the tarnished tableau that beholds your fresh gaze, you stay open mouthed. This moment though tough, is a gentle stab in comparison to what prevails. Living with the understanding of the world's reality, with little knowledge of how to change it, or even the small universe that circles yourself; the knocks of adulthood can be hard. Where are we headed? There is a delicate uncertainty to the future, one that haunts me each night; preventing me from sleep. It lingers over me each morning, so I awake exhausted. It sits with me throughout the day as I bite my nails with frustration. Where are we headed? Further away from the safety of childhood, into a world unknown, exciting and petrifying.

Fickle Standards

I listened to him talk, my head motioning agreement at the end of each phrase. Occasionally I could feel myself speak, mouth widening, I could feel myself there. I did like him, yet each word he spoke sent me further away. I would find myself fixed on his features, evaluating their proportion and positioning. Overall he was attractive, that free, rebellious type; oozing with charisma. I could imagine myself swept away, our bodies entwined on some remote island. Yet my thoughts could drift in two directions, the first elaborating on my fictional romance, the second picking apart his imperfections; leaving me with a dream of what I could have and the guilty destruction that I created. I stared a little at the rambling man in front of me; just an empty case whose contents I have picked through before he could confess them to be his own. He is not a fool. "Fickle" he named me...my short tempered standards; they guide me to the highest heights. Yet it is a lonely journey that is not quickly finished.