The First Poetry Prize Winner –
WINTER 2023 – 2024
is Lydia Kifle
of London, Ontario – CANADA
“The Art of Growing Up”
By Lydia Kifle
Dreams are great big cliffs and life is the water that erodes them.
When we are young we stand at the edge and we aren’t afraid to fall off,
as we grow we back away to more sensible distances.
But is it sensible if we are threatening a happy existence?
As a child I discovered a new passion every week.
There were more options than I could wrap my head around.
Each year that passed I started to see they weren’t all options,
then without even realizing I started to dream with caution.
Adults showed us movies where the underdog always won,
then preached sensibility and taught us to be practical.
Schools are full of contradicting lessons for young people,
grownups not realizing crushing dreams can be lethal.
I used to be extremely vibrant, not afraid to get on stage, obsessed with art in all
its forms. But when people asked me what I wanted to be,
my answer would reflect the ideals of who was in front of me.
Maybe that’s where it all starts, the quality of a fire depends on what you fuel it with.
Kids can’t dream if you trap their mind inside of a cage, restricting their options to what makes sense to you!
There’s an abundance of occupations that you haven’t even thought of that your child could pursue.
Adults aren’t the only problem. Our screens are filled with stories of unbelievable accomplishments.
Youth start to feel like they need to be a success instantly, it causes distress.
They don’t even know who they are yet that’s the first thing to address.
It took me 19 years to realize that I didn’t know what I wanted to do.
I settled on a career pursuit because I was running out of time to be indecisive.
I regret that year I wasted convincing myself I wanted something I didn’t,
I learned that sometimes you need to jump even if the landing is hidden.
Maybe we stop asking “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
And start asking “How do you want to feel?” Then we can ask “What makes you
feel that way?” then we can start building dreams that we won’t throw away.
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About the poet:
My name is Lydia Kifle (she/her) and I am a 23-year-old from Ontario Canada. For as long as I can remember I have been writing stories. No matter the format poetry, fiction, visual or audio, I believe in the power of storytelling. Obsessed with characters that reflect honest human experiences, I seek to make my audience feel less alone. Connect and read my work at https://lydiakifle.journoportfolio.com/
