Thinking, Always
by Jade Rao, Lauriston Girls’ School
Finalist, Years 9 – 10, written poetry
I am not the main character.
I am not the center of the world.
I am merely a passing figure,
leaving nothing but a faint dent
in the stone that records human history –
a mark, proof that I was here.
And yet, this dent will fade
with time,
as all dents do.
The fragments chipped away
will be carried by the wind,
and align with the stars and galaxies I gaze upon,
the very ones I stand upon.
And this stone, recording human history,
is just as insignificant as I am.
Nothing but a stone, humbly unnoticed.
And our existence, everything’s existence,
this planet I stand upon,
those stars I gaze upon,
are just as small,
just as fleeting,
as I am.
I am nothing.
Nothing at all.
But does that matter?
For I live
I breathe.
I stand. I think.
I love. I feel. I hope.
I am not just alive.
I live.
And that is all that matters.
To me, at least.
Want to read more poems? Explore the other Years 9 – 10 finalists.