Radiance of Youth

You,

are that one-of-a-kind sight in this world,

the spring breeze

brushing your cheek,

carrying away

the glimmer

that had lingered in your eyes,

who knew since when.

You,

are the tender sprout

still wrapped in its swaddling clothes at dawn,

willing to struggle,

to come into this world,

with grit and stubborn resolve,

never giving up.

You,

are the white lotus

above a clear spring in summer,

pure and pristine,

proudly rising from the mud,

never losing your grace.

You,

are the wintersweet

shivering in the cold wind,

the wind howling like a demon,

unable to scour away your fierce, unyielding spirit,

swaying in the gale,

never falling!

This,

is your oath in life,

silently proclaimed to all under heaven,

eternal and undying!

Author's note