The Fulcrum of Fifteen

Snuggling neatly amidst ten and twenty
Fifteen, the age of exceptional opportunity.
Be a kid for all you want
Flaunt maturity when the hour demands. 

Playing pranks, giggling for no rhyme
Folded over a book, hoping to warp time.
Dodging the bedtime with gay abandon
Still open to ideas; you are fresh, new born.

Passing off as adult to the untrained gaze
Testing freedom’s elasticity, tasting emotions ablaze.
Expanding boundaries uncover marvels untold,
Decisions made, accountability shouldered.

Clawing tightly into the ebbing childhood
Anticipation, curiosity, exhilaration heralding adulthood.
Fearless, unstoppable; rationality not your agency
Unconditioned, unshackled, raw and ready.

Inspired by my daughter’s idea, as she turned fifteen, that she is equidistant from ten and twenty.