Life is lived in but a day
It begins with the sunrise,
Bright and shining,
Full of hope and light.
And it begins to ascend,
bringing you through the early trials and triumphs of childhood.
You grow stronger,
brighter, and fill the world with your light.
There may be others trying to dampen it,
stifle it and make it do their bidding.
They block it with rain clouds of sorrow and greed
that pour to the earth.
But It does not last.
You will rise above them,
make it through,
let the light follow its own path, if you are strong enough.
This path will lead you through the struggle of becoming your own person,
the choices you will be forced to make,
the people you will choose to love
the life you are determined to live.
And you will reach your highest point,
the brightest part of the day,
when the light is strong enough to pierce through even the darkest and most shut off of minds and make them see your light as something formidable to oppose.
You will burn away the shadows of doubt,
and be as bright and certain as the midday sun.
This period is brief,
but it is the most important.
It will be burned in your memory,
it will make you who you are are in later life,
when you begin to descend back to the earth.
You will revel in the afternoon, continuing to make your light as bright and beautiful as it was in your prime.
And you may bring even more light into the world,
to start It’s own day,
blaze it’s own path
burn as brightly as you once did.
This will be your largest legacy, this new dawn.
The light it shines reminiscent of yours,
reminding you of time passed by.
You will help this light shine to its fullest potential, even if it means dulling your own.
And as your light fades you will remember what glory you used to have
be thankful to those who encouraged you
as you do your own child
watching them grow brighter by the day.
As your colors die away, you hold on to the love you have had in your life,
the brightness in your memory.
You will shine till the last, until your light is finally extinguished, and you give in to the cool, dark embrace of the silver night.
Rouse High School
11