by Christina, age 17, from US

dreamers are the ones who sit forlornly
a futile sigh escaping from their soul
everyone tells them to smile a little
so instead of fighting, they obey

they've been to heaven and back again
exploring the pensive clouds of chance
untapped streams of full color possibility
majestic mountaintops of glory

they've seen it all and yearned to live it
to surf on a risk, to swim in what could be
to stand serenely on top of it all and breathe
this is imagination

it's the saddest low when they return
and discover that what they once found
is now the distant glow in the flecks of their eyes
as they face the world and sigh

cynicism mediocrity stark and gray
blatant hate and emotions shut down
people functioning and forgetting to live
decay in it's middle ages

so this is why dreamers prefer to dream
and this is why dreamers cry
this is the price of expectation
for a dreamer trapped in a realist's creation