I was all skin and bones
It didn’t matter
I could still eat a tray of calzone,
Didn’t care if it made me fatter;
Didn’t skimp on the butter
I knew I was young
Didn’t think I’d get older;
Got sunburned and forgot moisturiser,
All my friends were in the same boat,
It was all jumping ropes
And running after one another,
Falling and scabs being pulled off;
At 24 we’re still young,
But 10 years ago
I thought I’d be gone by 26
Is that why I feel old?
I can feel it now
The fear I never knew,
It’s in the way it hurts as I run
And in the way I constantly wear my sunblock;
In every little scar that forms
And I panic a little,
It’s in how I avoid the sun,
And think of how much I should eat,
Oh we never knew we were growing old
But at 24 years young
My aging has started to scare me.
©️ Jana Pelzom 2023
I have always had Peter Pan syndrome but now as I’m closer to being Captain Hooks’ age, reality is daunting.