Prom Night

My heart is

Full and yet

So empty.

Smiling brightly

At people I pass by,

Rustling skirts and

Shining cuff links.

My mask has become

A part of me.

Glittering dresses and

Trussed up hair.

Polished shoes and

Ironed trousers

One night to be

Sophisticated,

One night to be

Spontaneous.

Take a step

Into a whole new world,

Take a glance

At what might disappear.

Grasp the moments,

Make a memory,

Take a jump into the unknown,

Create your own world-

For a night.

You can be

Whoever you want to be,

No one will remember

The old you.

Take a risk

You normally would not

Even dream

To consider.

One night to

Relieve temptations,

Fulfill dreams,

Satisfy desires.

Who can scorn you?

Time suspended,

Rolling past without

The marking of the clock.

It lasts forever,

Yet ends so soon.

Great is the build-up,

The suspense,

The anxiety,

The excitement.

Growing until it’s gone.

Prepare for

Days, weeks, or months,

But in a moment

It will disappear.

Taste the bittersweet flavor

Of an innocence

Now lost.

Knowledge of yourself

So sweet-

Ignorance of the world.

A tart realization

Of how naive we

Once were.

Cry for what you have lost,

But quickly dry your face.

The fullness of life

Is approaching-

You must hurry

To climb aboard.

The train is passing

Through the night,

Carrying your life.

-Sabrina Hoddy