Are We There Yet?

A poem about growing up

Hey mom, are we there yet, I'm getting carsick

From the distance that we've traveled and the signs that mark it

Is this another trip where I think it's to the park

And then I find out we're just gonna keep driving in the dark

All the years wasted, yelling from the backseat

Bitter towards these wheels when all this time you knew I had feet

But I was convinced that I would feel all the freer when it ended

Like letting out a breath that had long been suspended

But life reset at eighteen, and the climb didn't matter

It's always a nervous feeling at the top of the ladder

Not exciting and liberating like you thought it would be

So you enjoy the climb down to a safer twenty-three

While hoping one day to be taken from this madness

We have to find a way to stay lighthearted in the blackness

So I find it's okay to find solace in each sensation

Of movies and music and other forms of masturbation

I thought that the sting of each bullet would pass

But in the moment they're one by one, in memories they're a mass

These are the clouds I still live with today

With no sign that new ones won't soon come my way

So here we are still driving aimlessly and fast

Looking for the mirage we held on to in the past

After all these years I can smell it almost

Hey mom, are we there yet, no, not even close

Reviews

[Dalton Holt]

I like this poem. I really like how you came up with the extended metaphor of a drive and years leading to adulthood. I love how you had a great rhyme scheme while still keeping your message. Many people lose the message of their poem to a rhyme scheme. I really enjoy this one, the message is the best part. Great poem, you're a good poet, keep it up!

By the way, you used the word 'towards' twice in a row on the sixth line.

[Cindy Marietta]

Really like this, never would have thought to connect "are we there yet" and the years of life, you did it wonderfully!