brave new world

October 2009 is an date that once seemed so far away as to be worthy of completely ignoring, but now approaches at such a rate that it is the subject of a new conversation each time i meet up with friends. It is the 20th anniversary of my starting university.

This is a landmark in many ways for me; 20 years is a bloody long time to acknowledge no matter what the event and it scares me at times to see how different i am now to the person who first walked into Woodville hall all that time ago. i'm also approaching a time when the time spent during and post-university is more than the time spent before it - a dividing line where old-me turned into new-me with no idea how long the change would last.

i remember writing the following poem as if it were yesterday (or 6,300+ days ago) as it was the night before my 20th birthday, and the first birthday i'd spent away from home, new personality and all. with a title inspired by Morrissey and a first verse inspired by Shakespeare, it tries a bit too hard and probably belongs more in sixth-form notebook, but for me it's an indelible reminder of change...

Last Of The Infamous Teenage Years

In the light of this brief, brief candle
Reality hits me, something I can't handle
Fast approaches this way.

And so, I look back with guilt and shame
And joy and laughter
And tears and pain -
Life fast approaches me this way.

Left on the wrong side of youth,
And only but a brief flicker away,
It's impossible to escape the truth,
Everywhere I hear it say
Child no more, you're twenty today!


December 1989