I Was Lost Now I’m Found
By AC
I chased the soccer ball as a child
My mind only set on scoring a goal,
Our mothers continued talking among themselves.
Wondering aloud how they could be able to pay all the bills.
But none of this ever crossed my young mind,
All I heard were the screams of more kids
Asking to pass them the ball to keep running around.
We kept running and screaming as our lives felt just fine.
Time do change, life gets more complex, it’s complicated
And now I find myself wondering in my head
Perhaps the same way my mother did back in the day
What will the future look like?
But from time to time I catch a glimpse of myself
In the mirror of life looking back at me
From within the stories of others.
I see the memories of the person I am
And so I continue to help anyone that crosses my path
Because for every that I help,
I keep finding yet another piece of my heart.
It’s not the same as chasing a ball, nor as fun.
I love to help others because for a moment I thought I was lost
But now I am found.
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AC,
I enjoyed reading your poem. You have crafted a meaningful picture of how it feels to grow up on a society that is full of both positive and negative changes, Your poem has helped me reflect on thinking about the future. We often think about the future, but realize that I am in the “future” that I often fantasized about in the months or years prior. A line that stands out to me is “I keep finding yet another piece of my heart.” When I read your poem for the first time, this line jumped out at me because of how helping others can make me feel. Like you, I try to help others as they come to me. While I know how it feels to feel confused about my path in life, I enjoy helping others find their way because every person should experience growth. Helping others can be such a meaningful task, and new parts of yourself can be discovered along the way. Thank you for your words.
Dear AC, Your poem is really wonderful. Like a soccer ball, your story comes back in a full circle and the poem does as well. It’s very clever and a wonderful technique. I really resonate with the idea that small moments in our past are ones that speak to us most strongly later in life and can become a guiding force. From your poem I feel the power of memories to help and heal. Whether simple or complex, life is about learning, changing, and improving. Your poem reminded me of that! Best wishes, Roxanne
I liked how you talked about the transition from childhood to adulthood, and the overwhelming responsibilities that come with that. Many people surely feel this overwhelming feeling of newfound responsibility, some more than others. Many people have these new responsibilities thrust upon them much more quickly than others, especially if they do not have the support network to help them deal with these new challenges or if the people that are attempting to support them also struggle with the same challenges. It seems as though you are familiar with this situation of not having as much support as you would like especially because those who want to support you are also challenged with the same responsibilities. I sympathize with you and wish you the best in learning how to deal with these challenges.
Hey AC!
This is such a powerful and relatable poem that has depth that creates so much meaning. You were able to write in a way that allowed me to visualize my own childhood, experiencing similar situations. It’s crazy how growing up changes so much. I especially loved when you said “From within the stories of others.” This line captured a whole viewpoint that I hadn’t grasped before reading this. Looking through a new lens gives perspective that can be life changing. It is amazing that by helping others, you are able to put back together the pieces of your heart, memory by memory, to find who you are at the core. Amazing poem AC, I can’t wait to read more of your work!
Hi AC, I thought your poem’s strong themes about childhood innocence, generational fears, the pain of maturity and healing through helping were really moving. I appreciated your comments on reciprocity and how giving back to people allowed you to heal yourself. I thought your commentary on how goals are changed from childhood to adulthood were very insightful.
Hello AC! We really enjoyed the allegory presented in your poem. There’s a very deep level of self reflection that we appreciated learning about and taught us the importance of self reflection. One of our favorite details about your work was how you started your self examination as a kid, and noticed the gradual changes throughout life as it’s complexities also increased. It seems like you went full circle and found peace once again as you did when you were kid. Overall we really enjoyed your poem and would love to read more of your work in the future!
this poem makes a great connection to nostalgia and the feeling of growing back and looking back at pure moments to see what and how we can better ourselves. The poem creates a feeling of fulfillment as the ending is in a cycle motion which ends the poem in a sense that reminds us of the cycle of life. Also beautiful language and vocabulary.
As I read this, it made me think of my childhood. As a young kid, you don’t know much. I grew up with loving parents and two older brothers who loved sports. I played baseball all of my life, not a worry in mind. Over the past year I decided to quit baseball to focus on my college work load, but also so I can spend more time with my family. As I grew up, I suddenly knew what worry was, whether it was about sports, family, school, or if I was struggling mentally. I felt lost, baseball was my only outlet where I could get away from reality. Now, I have learned to keep myself busy, and spend time with people who genuinely care about my well-being. For this poem, I feel as if you can either read it the way it is, or think in depth about it and you will get a different perspective.
Hi AC,
Your poem is remarkable! Finding yourself and what drives your happiness is truly amazing. I like how you put your poem in time frames of your life, starting as a child being innocent to the world around you to getting older and understanding more. When we are kids I feel that we are in a way protected by our mothers or parents from the daily struggles and fight that people have to deal with. Once we become old enough to understand, we then have to decide for ourselves what we want to do with that. I am glad that I as well want to help people that cross my path, same as you. Your deeper perspective of your thought of being lost and now found and how it makes you want to help others is touching. Knowing that you can find yourself after being lost is inspiring and helps push you to want to show others that they can find themselves too.
– McKenzie
This piece is really interesting to me, AC. Specifically in the third stanza, you seem to intentionally mess with perception of time. your mother back in the day thinking of the future (skipping the present moment) and especially the line “memories of the person I am” instead of “memories of the person I was.” I love that line because it really blurs the distinction between past and present, blending the two into a single moment. Bravo!
Dear AC,
Thank you for this beautiful, philosophical poem. The first stanza brought me right into the picture of the soccer game: the energy of the kids running, the sounds of game, the contrast to the group of mothers on the sidelines, absorbed in their worries and fears. I could read a whole poem just about that scene. There’s also something about the last line of the first stanza: “We kept running and screaming as our lives felt just fine.” On the one hand, it’s a bunch of loud, rambunctious kids. On the other hand, there’s something a little menacing about “running and screaming,” like it is foreshadowing danger or violence to come. I love how you return to the soccer imagery at the end of the poem, chasing souls or hearts, rather than a ball, having found a pursuit that is not a game, but a vocation. What a gift you offer to others.
Gratefully,
Heather
The first thought that came to mind when reading this was nostalgia. I was a soccer kid and I often yearn to go back to those simpler times when life was relatively worry-free. I am admittedly still at the part of my life where I fee lost, but reading this does instill some hope that I may be found eventually.
That was a really nice poem! I love how you intertwined nostalgic moments with the present. Really well written!
I love how you were able to pull a memory from your past to create a poem to describes who you are right now. I feel this poem on a deeper level because I too love to be able to help others and help them become a better person. I really enjoyed reading this poem because I was able to connect with it as well.
Thank you AC for sharing your art. Our lives are full of stories and the pictures of our lives shows us the beauty of growth from the times of when we were younger. The memories you hold motivates you to help others and it is powerful. Supporting one another creates a force that is unbreakable. I hope the future times are able to those of peace and tranquility.
I like how the rhythm of the poem almost feels like the soccer ball rolling along and there’s good use on enjambment. Really like the line about looking into the mirror of life. It’s a powerful metaphor and powerful poem.
Thank you for sharing this personal experience with us. Growing up is difficult and looking into the future can be frightening, bu, as you said, finding that purpose is essential. I appreciate that you go out of your way to help others. You inspire me to search for a purpose in my own life and to always help others around me.
– Bradley
I want start off by saying this is one of the best poems I’ve read so far. You continue to stay positive in the situation you are in. You seem to be a positive person and that will get you far in life. I can really relate to the line, “I keep finding yet another piece of my heart.” We never know who we are going to run into that is going to impact our lives forever. I can remember that smallest details that someone told me that changed my life and that person did not even realize. So, with that being said it is so important to stay positive because you never know who you are affecting at that moment. I once read an article and the author talked about why he smiled to every stranger he came across. He said he smiled once to a stranger on the road and the stranger came up to him to thank him for smiling at him, it made him feel mattered and seen in this world.
I love your positivity. You are going to make a big change in this world.
AC,
I love that you stick to your roots. /you seek that childlike joy, and you care for others along the way. The burdens of this world are heavy, but you are stronger!
I thought this poem was sweet and relatable. You did a good job describing the differences between what you knew and understood as a younger child and how that changed as you grew up. This poem demonstrates the changes in priorities at different times in our lives. In the end, you are describing how you can change others lives. I like how you mentioned that it’s not the same, or as fun, as chasing the ball mentioned in the beginning. This was very nicely written.
It sounds like you’ve found your purpose in helping people. I applaud you for putting in the work to give back to others. There is something fulfilling in that. It’s funny how as kids we’re so blind to real world around us. Stay strong. Keep up the poetry.
I feel like everyone goes through stages in life where they are scared, nervous, or confused about who they are and what the future will look like. The sentence saying “And so I continue to help anyone that crosses my path” stood out to me because it shows that you are there for people and want to be there for them as much as you can. Even the last sentence was inspirational because it shows that no matter how stressful or complex life is people will always find their way even if it takes longer than expected. Growing up is a scary process but it is something that will all have to go through. Thank you for sharing your poem and great job!
When we were younger, we often looked at our futures thinking it was going to be so much fun. Then we became that future we looked forward to and now most of the time people want to go back to the past. I find myself looking back in the past and wondering where I’d be if I did something different. You captured that into words. While reading it I also looked back at my younger self and wish I had been told what you wrote so I could prepare her for what she would experience now. This poem is amazing. Keep writing.
This poem really does explain the reality of life. Life seems to fly by as a little kid and seems so long as an adult. A poem like this makes me realize to cherish the young moments and time that you have because it goes by very fast. I also really like the last stanza of this poem because it is talking about helping others. The line that sticks out to me the most is “Because for every that I help, I keep finding yet another piece of my heart.” I think we need more people in the world with this mindset. Overall I feel connected to this poem and the meaning behind it. Keep up the good work!
I had a great time reading this poem. I felt nostalgic when reading this and reminisced about my childhood. This poem illustrates how our priorities shift over the course of our lives. I appreciated how you explained how your life changed and became different from how it had been in the past. Growing older is a process, and I’m sure many other people find it frightening. I appreciate you for sharing.
Hi AC,
This poem was wonderful, and something I think that many can relate to. The representation of a child’s innocence shown through the soccer game was very powerful; all the kids running around playing, with no concern other than who has and where the ball is going, while the mothers talk amongst themselves, stressing about paying bills. I’m not sure when exactly it is in life, but I think at some point, we all find ourselves in the same or very similar shoes as our parents were in our childhood, and I loved that you represented this. Your story of finding yourself through helping others was inspiring to read. I’m glad you were able to find the thing you love that makes you who you are. Thank you for sharing your growing up journey,
Ainsley
This is a beautiful poem. I think this really points out the reality that you’ll never be as free as you were when you were a kid, nor as happy, but you’ll forever be finding different traits in your self as you get older and you’ll start transforming into the person you always wanted to be. I feel like once you find yourself you are finally level headed and content with the person staring back at you in the mirror. In life you are forever learning which means your mind will always be changing in small doses, but you’ll always be anchored down by your true self.
Hey AC I really liked your work. I relate to your poem. The bad time in life makes you reflect more. I look back on my years of life and I think about my life and what have I done. Your poem makes people think about what they have done for the world. Keep making incredible work.