Disclaimer: Poem’s mine, no one else’s. Would you expect anything else? :P

Author’s Note: This was an English assignment my class had to do recently, in the “romantic” style. Hopefully it’s not too bad.

I owe this all to Jessica, for giving me the idea for the poem in the first place, as well as being an awesome friend. This goes out to her.

Placed on a wooden shelf

high above

where if I stood on tiptoes

I could reach it

is a trophy

shining gold

with adorned handles

and engraved on it

are letters

pictures

sometimes a medal or two

Its handles are slightly rusty

the surface is ridged in some places

but feels cool to my hand;

the gold is a little tarnished

Its engravings can be faintly seen

the names worn out from age

and fingers caressing it

A symbol of honor

hard-earned work

and victory

it is

awarding someone for doing a good deed

winning a competition

getting recognition

It belongs to both winners and losers

not just one over the other

Sometimes becoming worthless

in a couple of years

collecting dust

but never clouding

the memories

of the person

who won it

Dreams of

receiving

earning

winning

it

run rampant

in

imaginative minds

A person like me

cannot stop

wishing

hoping

dreaming

to win one

If only to

hold it

in my hands

physical proof

telling me that

the moment I’m living in

is real

and what I did –

whatever I did

actually happened

To me it appears

untouchable

something from

my imagination

a figment of a dream I can’t hold

that won’t last forever

something that can’t be real.

But it also encourages

for people to follow their dreams

and make what they fantasize about

a reality

It is an inspiration.

And it assures me

that what happened in the past

was real

and not something I dreamt up –

something that wasn’t too good to be true.

In a way

it achieves what I can’t do

All I can do is make what I dream

actually happen

and it can make me realize

that what I did

really occurred right before my eyes.

Looking at it now

I think of the numerous times

I’ve won one like it

and

right next to it

sitting on the shelf

is the very first one

I won

for being “Thespian of the Year” –

the most important

that tells of

everything

that I have accomplished –

spelling bees

perfect attendance

“Most Valued Player” in various games

during gym class

certificates of every kind

The triumphs are endless

This time I can reach it

without having to tiptoe

I gaze at it

my fingers gently brushing against

the slightly ridged

cool surface

This one tells of my most recent win

one that will

burn in my memory

forever

In a rush it all comes

back to me –

the familiar thrill

of winning –

doing something that

had never been done before

running through me –

feeling the snap of the ribbon

unbinding

the loud mingled cheers and shouts of

the crowd

the pounding of my feet on the pavement –

I’m reliving winning the county marathon

feeling light

as if I was floating in the universe

without gravity’s pull on me –

and the moment when

the judges handed me the first place trophy

I remember clenching it

as if my very existence

depended on it

and grinning so wide

my jaw ached.

I put the trophy

back on the shelf

the very first one I had won

no longer unreachable

My silent reminder

telling me

to go

beyond all limits