The Golden Years
15
I had always been a realist
but here in this moment,
friends at my side, a sunrise above,
I wondered what issue could
ever survive
in a world that was nothing but
beautiful
***
The sun had a way of giving spirit with its light
***
Oh how lovely it was
to lie back
and watch the clouds
16
And here I was
again trapped
in that questioning sort of mindset.
Floating seamlessly
in reality
***
I never knew until now
that the fear of what could happen
isn't nearly as terrifying as
the fear of what might not
***
And really,
what was more terrifying than tranquility?
17
Tho he shone,
he was not my light.
Rather
the shade that made this
heat so bearable
***
What is it really
that distinguishes a best friend from a lover?
And if the line had blurred so naturally were
the two really so different?
***
He was a drop of color
In the cobweb of life
spinning the grey
into silky gold
18
People are stained the moments they learn
what is vice
and what is virtue
***
I thought if I held onto you tight enough
maybe you wouldn't go.
Yet here I am
white knuckles and cramping palms,
feeling you start to fade
before you are even gone
***
In your sight I flicker
shadows in a haunted place
memories now torn cobwebs
while your light is as bright as day
19
Who are we to judge?
We are all just addicts
chasing the high of life
***
Life was beautiful in the way that all dangerous things were
20
How does one stare
at the clock for eternity
yet age in the blink of an eye
***
To have it to lose
if not now then too soon
***
Oh what I’d give
to lie back once more
And simply watch the clouds
Ari Ontko is a freshman at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor studying environment on the pre-law track. She writes creatively in her free time and hopes to continue writing throughout her undergraduate years. She was also previously published in the American Association of High School Poets