Years

In the process of growing up 
there comes a moment
when you finally realize 
how short a year really is

Sometime around the
end of middle school
you count out the years
and see that college
is just around the corner

That's the moment when
you're no longer a child
when the years feel like
they just slip right by
and you feel that 
it's all going too fast

When you were a child
a year dragged on 
and a week was even
too long to wait for something
and your birthday was a novelty

It's all a part of growing up
along with many other realizations
like how the word seems
to stop revolving around you
and how you suddenly want
the help that you used to scorn
when you were smaller
but you can't have it now

The years continue
to increase their speed
as it all becomes relative
and you get used to it
but that first moment
is always a shock
when the years begin
to seem shorter