The way one grows...: A poem by Fatima Afshan

I was born into a dream world.

There were lights, love, beauty, and smiles.

A child in me plucked a flower and smelt it.

When it dried up, I grew.

When I was denied sweets and told 

That bitter medicines were my cure, I grew.

When I had to pay for the love I received, I grew.

When lights changed into embers, I grew.

The more my dreams broke

The more I grew

And the time came

When I learned

The difference between our dreams and reality

The difference between a mirage and oasis,

The difference between love and lust, and the difference between 

Truth and lie,

I was relieved 

I painted myself with the colors of the world.

My perspectives changed and I grew up.