One may wonder
What teens actually want…
is it the acrylic nail extension
or a few streaks of hair to be dyed blonde?
One may ponder
but can never really tell
What teens yearn…
it is a divine spell
not to be cast for a hundred calories to burn
but for the ‘root cause’ to discern.
Some teens in despair
just want a bare minimum affirmation
that their life will pan out marvelous-
a whole lot more real than a mere ostentation.
On a Saturday evening,
Teens might not pick getting sloshed,
if only you pit it against
visiting the school the parents went to,
the park they often bruised themselves in,
walking down their memory lane.
What teens want?
You may ask,
not a vacation too exotic,
just some place far from
the ever-monotonous, mundane regularities.
A road trip, maybe,
Towards the countryside,
a hundred and thirty kilometers away!
All open spaces,
yet no room for sorrow and grief,
but happy tears: welcomed with open arms
(sorry, closed eyes!)
No, teens do not want funny ear-piercings,
they indeed need a patient ear
from either their peers or siblings,
as a reply, they’d appreciate,
“You’re boulders stronger than this, my dear.”
“I’ve some figuring to do for myself.”
Teens may snap, all flustered
while they need you
not to spoon-feed
by making lavish arrangements
but to stand as a scaffold
so you can pick them when they stumble,
let them speak, even though you’re afraid
they might fumble.
Reiterate: “You’re lovable,
Relax, your acne won’t always remain unfixable.
You’re desirable,
despite your larynx trifling with you.
Bury your poor scores on class tests for a bit,
guilt-tripping for
not making it to the Toppers’ List, skip it!”
Remember: Chances are always second-last
and so is this verse,
by the minute, you’re not getting worse,
only becoming more versatile
to play pitches of several kinds.
“It’s okay to not be okay”, they all say.
I need you to know that
You have the power
to claw your way back,
wearing courage pinned to the heart on your sleeves,
to the loftiest wall of ‘OKAY’
from a wretched hole of ‘NOT OKAY’.
You are magic,
disguised in the body of a teen,
time-lined on a range of thirteen to nineteen years.
Nonetheless, you are boundless!
By-
Divya Mistry
