No Longer a Child

I am no longer a child.

You must know that.

Or perhaps you don’t.

None of you were beside me as I fought the battles to continue to speak my own name aloud.

Battles that meant life or death.

Honestly, I have fought those battles.

And none of you were there.

But I don’t blame you.

I never did.

I fought them on my own because I thought it meant that I was stronger.

But you must know,

I am no longer a child.

I may have the wide eyes and quick feet

That I possessed as a child.

I may still openly wonder and laugh at the nuances of the world.

I can admit I do not know it all and I am still learning

Because I am young

But I am no longer a child.

I need not be the drab, dry, cold existence expected of most adults

To no longer be a child.

I have my childlike wonder intact

But I am no longer a child.

And you must know that.