To Your Twelve-Year-Old Self—Day Twenty-Six of NaPoWriMo 2022

“What is life, what is love?
Are you at your best, have you settled well?”
Dear me at twelve,
I assure you, I don’t know just as yet

All the risks you take:
Skipping classes, begging for more game time,
Pulling her hair (you know who),
eating everyone’s food,
Dear me at twelve,
I assure you, they’re the right things to do.

Watch TV a little longer,
It’s alright;
we can fight over the remotes and consoles,
To battle and laugh a little harder,
With friends and big brother.

Bake cookies with mum,
water the garden with grandmum,
Listen to grandpa’s stories,
Hug dad a little tighter.
‘Cause, dear me at twelve,
I assure you, you’ll remember these forever.

At twenty, I’m happy at uni
With new friends and old,
Yet, I wish to go back to twelve.

Written by Vaishnavi Karkare for MTTN
Featured Image by Akshaya Ramesh for MTTN