Progress Poem by Derrick Andrews

Starting anew is always a task.
Fight for your life without wearing a mask.
Feeling like everything slips from my grasp.
Maybe, just maybe, I'll manage to clasp.
Hold on and cling to the goals that I've set.
Hope for the best but I'm not there just yet.
Never once have I felt stronger regret.
Than when I realized that I could've bet
Much more of my time as a younger, Brown child.
Loving myself and defeating denial.
So much of my time has been spent on the bad,
Ignoring with pride all the gladness I had.
Choosing to gloom and lay down in my pit.
Throwing away every piece I knew fit.
Yet now, I'm experienced, humble, and bold.
There's something to say about saying you're old.
With years, comes intelligence, wisdom, and class.
And a strong sense of self, no longer like glass.
I'm now much more stubborn, but much more informed.
I'm willing to learn without feeling malformed.
Not fixed upon making or breaking a mold.
Just stuck on my progress and becoming bold.
I love how I am now, I wish I was younger.
But youthful or not, I retain my hunger.