the child i didn’t get to be

i yearn the child
i didn’t get to be
i yearn being wild
and jumping over waves in the sea

i yearn being soft
and not being handicapped
my confidence was swarfed
til my patience snapped

i never got to be a child
at seven, i needed to be a grown up
now, the adult can’t be exiled
but with my lost childhood i can try and catch up

see me win back my never-ending smile
despite fighting diagnoses and dark days
stuffed animals, photos and memories i compile
and i begin to see my life through a childlike gaze