By Ayyub Hussain

Geronimo

I wish life's how it was when I wrote those books by Geronimo

I'm turning 21 soon and child me feels like a ghost

Yet, sometimes, I wish I was him

An eight-year-old boy free of sin

I read every book I bought

What didn't matter was the cost

I wished I could be cool like Thea

But I was the boy who always had cream cheese and jam tortillas

The heroes I looked up to was the heroes I grew up with

They supported me as I became a wordsmith

In my mother's house, I was the only kid

The new kid in school with no confidence

Life was so much better when I only cried because of science fairs

The time when I learned the difference between, they are, there and their

Everything in life had such a brighter glow

Especially at the book fair when I found Geronimo

Journeying to the past is my only wish

But I can't forget the feeling of someone else's fists

Or finding out my father is an egoist

The idea of my childhood being a fairytale doesn't exist

I was an eight-year-old boy free of sin

My father's love was a game I couldn't win

Being in his house barely felt like bliss

I made peace knowing I can only see him through my skin

My childhood wasn't perfect

Things were worse, so why should I go back to it?

But sometimes, I wish I could talk to him

That eight-year-old boy free of sin

In a couple of months, I'll be 21

All I know is that I write about love

My child me might feel like a ghost

But there's a part of me that will always love Geronimo