This Is My Life Poem by Hannah Barham

The tiny baby in the photographs
So small, bald, and fragile
Cradled in strong arms
Loved for simply existing

The toddler clinging to the wall
Screaming in the night
Hands gripping sturdy things
To keep from falling over

The shy, scared four-year-old
Spending her first day in school
Nervous of making friends
Scared of being misunderstood

Growing up and moving on
Leaving primary school behind
Five years begin to take their toll
In exams, tears, and pain

College next, big life choices
"This is the path I will take"
But life went from tolerable day
To overwhelming night

Beep…beep…beep…beep.
Death is a flat-lining heart monitor
My grandad, my best friend
My one true believer, gone

Then, the plink of my mother's
Rings on the kitchen floor
As 16 years of arguments
Came to an unhappy end

The rushing of teenage hearts
Bodies collide in mistaken lust
Would this be enough to make him stay?
But for him her all wasn't enough 

More nights, more pain, more tears
More regret, anguish and confusion
"This isn't me, this isn't who
I was supposed to be"

Then, by chance, the one
Who came along and changed
Her life, seeped happiness into
The sadness of her being

Now in bed at night she dreams
Of the future, their life
Her loved ones, her career
But on a loop in her mind…

The tiny babies in the photographs
So small, bald, and fragile
Cradled in strong arms
Loved for simply existing.