IDENTITY

By Quincy Washington

Runner-Up in the AQA National Creative Writing Competition

Can you look down at your hand and just know that it’s yours?

Do you ever stare up at the clouds and your eyes start to explore?

At first they’re white spores and then so much more…

Sometimes you see faces, flowers, patterns; dinosaurs.

You will never see the same cloud, and never another you

To say that everything has identity is nothing but the truth.

When someone doubts decisions, mental precision or their mission

You know there’s something missing and they’re finding that their vision

is fading away before their eyes. Their identity disappears.

Derision and collision between their dreams and all their fears.

Take a piece of clay and mould it as you wish

Put in the furnace and engrave it so it’s finished

Take it out – polish it – and there’s nothing you can adjust

You’re the rigid sculpture now; your identity robust.

I think this what we fear, because change can be precarious

We keep to ourselves, follow the crowd and avoid encountering barriers.

Yet, look at a child, innocent and wild, almost void of fear

What did the world do to us, to make as so austere?

Freedom and personality is an asset of the young

Bad press in the news, but many successes unsung

The young become old, and the cycle repeats again

Identities diffuse into oblivion and boys become men.

An old man may know himself, and the identity his life has chosen

But in many ways, his thoughts, beliefs and opinions are rather frozen.

I really hope that when we grow up, we will still be the world’s children

When does the stew of TERROR AND CORRUPTION spill its deadly cauldron?

I guess, each human being, even babies will have these

Developed by life’s journeys. So promise that you’ll seize

Every measly, degree of life’s glees and beauties.

Never sleaze or freeze your mind. You must open your eyes to see

That for centuries in these, 200+ countries

I bet there has never been the same exact person, from Aussies to Chinese.

T owns, Villages, People… and then cities.

You should never overlook this worlds IDENTITY.