I’ve Grown

by Dayle King

The doll I played with yesterday

Forgotten on a shelf,

I look into the mirror

At an image of myself.

The little girl I once knew well

No longer greets me there,

And yet, those eyes are still her eyes,

Her nose, her mouth, her hair.

Today a friend so dear was wed,

Remember how we’d play

At hopscotch, jacks, and paper dolls?

Wasn’t it yesterday?

But, yesterday was long ago,

Time has passed in haste,

And all the time I thought I had

I somehow have misplaced.

I glance toward the dusty doll,

I long for time now gone,

Then back into the mirror,

I’ve grown; I must go on.