As I Sat on a Swing
By Stellar84

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This poem belongs to me, Emily.  All rights reserved.  Please,
no duplicating, copying, or distribution without my consent.
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     As I was passing down our deserted street 
     From my way back from school 
     I came across an empty playground 
     That I used to think was "cool" 

     The swings creaked wearily 
     As they swung with the breeze 
     But the deserted area seemed so cold 
     For it filled me not with ease 

     Yet, slowly I set down my books 
     My backpack and homework, too 
     And eased myself into that empty seat 
     Looking up into a sky of endless blue 

     There I sat for a little while 
     And my thoughts began to trail away 
     As the movement soothed my troubled feelings 
     My mind began to stray 

     I saw a girl not three years old 
     Staring out the door 
     And her dog lying very still 
     Against the cold, dark floor 

     I saw a girl of only five 
     Who could play the piano so well 
     And people clapped, cheered, and smiled 
     Almost as if that song could cast a spell 

     I saw a girl yet older still 
     Who worked away at home 
     And friends were few and far between 
     For her life was like a tome 

     I saw a girl whose values changed 
     As the years went passing by 
     A girl who knew not what to do 
     As all her friends broke their ties 

     I saw a girl who grew so cold 
     For no one seemed to care 
     Which just left her more alone 
     And no feelings were left to spare 

     Then the world turned around 
     And I saw where this girl was going 
     What I saw was one just one way 
     Outcomes that life was showing 

     I saw a women of thirty years 
     Who just kept on with her work 
     Who rarely spoke of how she felt 
     Who people thought was a jerk 

     So here I sat on the swing 
     Swaying from high to low 
     Like a pendulum in the wind 
     Never actually voicing what I know 

     So obvious was the past and future 
     So obscure was my life 
     The things I did or did not see 
     Gave me just more reason for my constant strife 

     And as I stopped my swinging 
     I began to contemplate 
     How one’s life is like this swing 
     To start early, or end way too late 

     With a running start, you push yourself 
     Striding fast ahead 
     Forging towards a specific goal 
     When then you change your mind instead 

     Back you would simply go 
     To the starting line 
     And push yourself yet again 
     Continuing to the end of time 

     If I stopped myself at the lowest point 
     It would end my dream 
     And decide that this is completely wrong 
     No matter what it might hold or seem 

     Or I could forge ahead 
     Swinging high above 
     Others just looking and watching 
     Waiting so that they may push and shove 

     And if I should try to jump at that point 
     While lifted to that higher state 
     I could fall with broken bones 
     Or land softly with a promising fate 

     And as I sat there on that swing 
     I began to realize 
     That things were not always what they seemed 
     And might turn out to be a surprise