Like never before,

the young girls

strive feverishly

to mature

in anticipation

of nothing to miss

in their young lives.

But without them realizing it,

the inverse takes place,

that is,

that one important thing, they do miss

what the youth has to offer:

INNOCENCE.

So, they grow up rapidly

and don’t think about it

until one day they wake up

and look startled into the face of

TRUTH.

Then they hear themselves lamenting,

why did they hurry so much to grow old?

Where have the young years gone?

Have they been fast-forwarded so easily,

uselessly?

©2025, Vasiliki Papadopoulou