Today I went back there,
To the very place where my eyes opened
Where my ignorance faded along with every sunset
Where my dreams started to bud from out of nowhere
Where I learned… and continued to learn…
Until learning becomes a foe
And discouraged for those who are low.
Today I went back there,
To that place that ate up all the happiness in me
It swallowed it whole that I no longer had time
To know it existed, to know it was real.
That place taught me a lot
About the world as a whole
About its inhabitants, about what’s real.
Today I went back there
To that place that made me realize the sad truth
That when you are weak, your place is down there
And you do not have any right to step up
Because when you attempt to do so
They will start kicking you off the ladder
Until you fall down, until you fail, until you live in misery.
Today, I saw everyone again
Those who became part of my dreams
Those who encouraged me to climb up despite all the kicking
Those who discouraged me and treated me poorly
Those who never cared, who never looked at me.
Seeing them again, gave me an amalgam of emotions
But I know that when they looked at me today
They had a vision of that girl, who struggled to keep her dreams alive.
Today, I went back there
To that place where I started to dream
Where I realized that dreaming can heal
That it can cure all your worries, all your fears.
That place had given me a lot to remember
Mostly bad, generally hurtful, but by and large enriching.
Though, in that place, my dreams were slowly crushed
I still managed to let them sprout back
And still I continue to water and care for it
So when I go back to that place again, they will see how large I made them grow
And they’ll see what I have been dreaming about all through.
