Young Writers Project is a creative online community of teen writers, photographers, and artists, based in Vermont since 2006. Each week, VTDigger features the writing and art of young Vermonters who publish their work on youngwritersproject.org, a free, interactive website for youth 12-18 years old. To find out more, visit youngwritersproject.org, or contact Executive Director Susan Reid at sreid@youngwritersproject.org; 802-324-9538.
“Try walking a mile in someone else’s shoes” is wonderful advice, if you have a whole afternoon to stroll and reflect. Would that we could simply slip on every pair of flipflops, slingbacks, wingtips, and Docs in the room for a few moments each, and find perspective enough in that – but why can’t we? This week’s featured poet, Bella Bailey of Milton, teaches us that all it takes to empathize with our fellow human beings is a willingness to pause and observe.
When I stopped myself in time
Bella Bailey, 17, Milton
When I stopped myself in time,
I watched a thousand lives,
a thousand separate paths
of bees from different hives.
One stood behind the counter,
one by the bathroom door.
Others knew what they had next,
others were not so sure.
A midnight time capsule
of the corner’s open station.
Some seemed all too aware,
and freaked out by sanitation.
Others were distracted,
a girl staring at her phone.
Many didn’t like the way
the door let out a moan.
Some seemed to be in pain,
others had a limp.
A sleepy child wearing braids,
an elder smelling like mint.
Now maybe this is creepy,
maybe it’s a little weird —
but when I stopped myself in time,
I saw through,
and life became unsheared.
Maybe the child was just tired,
that’s why she made a fuss.
The lady just really hungry,
that’s why I heard her cuss.
The man who held the door,
going back to his sick wife.
The dog was just begging,
but not in fear of his life.
These simple little things
that happen every day —
take a moment to reflect
why it could be this way.
The world becomes much clearer
when you look beyond yourself.
Stop time for once,
and think of someone else.
I saw a thousand lives.