Poem by Spencer Ostrosky

Spencer Ostrosky is a freshman in high school who is a part of his school's creative writing program. He has submitted pieces for his school's literary anthology and to Scholastic. Spencer is excited to go through his journey as a writer and to hopefully become his school's Poet Laureate.

The Same Place, a Different Time

 

On a hill I lie,

my back pressed against the grass,

staring up to the stars.

I ponder my life,

stress and panic spilling over

into my every action,

and wonder what it was like

a thousand years ago

for the shepherd on this same hill

 

We exist in contrast,

our lives a mirror of each other.

He walks through a field of life,

existing in harmony among every blade of grass,

while I navigate a jungle of concrete,

a labyrinth where everyone is lost.

He only tends to his body alongside

his herd of sheep, with wool as soft as clouds, 

as obedient as followers to a prophet.

My sight is flooded with things,

small little tasks like snowflakes,

piling up into a mountain, 

until my shoulders will no longer bear the weight.

 

But still we live in similarity,

the same timeless struggle grasping us both.

We both stay awake at night, unable to rest,

for him, he lost a precious sheep.

For me, a failed test.

Fear grips us both the same, 

butterflies that once filled his stomach filling mine. 

The same joy and sadness and hurt and love,

all those feelings and thoughts,

existing a millennium apart.

 

We sit back-to-back,

both of our eyes glued to the sky,

our lives so different yet similar.

We exist with each other at

the same place, but a different time.