So take the photographs, and still frames in your mind.
Hang it on a shelf of good health and good time. .
Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial. .
For what it's worth, it was worth all the while. .
I hope you had the time of your life.
-Green Day: Good Riddance.
Youth is the embodiment of imagination, trust, curiosity and every trait a newborn child possesses. By harnessing its power, one can be youthful as long as they live; however, because of the distractions in life, we often find ourselves forgetting that side of us, and at that moment our youth is gone. The following five poems show the power that childhood has both by affecting ourselves and others, because sometimes all we need is to look at life through a child's eyes one last time to remember what it was like.
Each of the five poems is written in a different style; however, they each have something in common. The theme of each poem is linked by the central idea that childhood (youth) is an amazing experience and when one grows up, one loses some of the better qualities and opportunities that are available to a child. In five different styles the poets portray this theme very powerfully. .
The first poem, written by Daria Witt, is called "I Should Have Caught My Unicorn When I Was". The poem is generally about missed opportunities and the idea that there is nothing she can do about it anymore because she is too old. She starts the poem with a "regretful" feeling line: "I should have caught my unicorn when I was sixteen." This line sets a mood from the beginning reflecting on how she missed out on something. Witt throws in words to suggest the trust, beliefs, love and innocence of a child; however, the mood is untouched because it is made so clear from the beginning. She finishes the poem by saying that it is too late to catch the unicorn because she is " too old and caught- herself.
The whole poem is a metaphor. The unicorn is a crafty, imaginative and fictional creature that represents the imagination a child has, and the things that that imagination can accomplish.
