Rhea Roy Ganguly

When I wake up,

I’m tired after only six hours of sleep

I think about how I must go to work today

I sigh and decide to skip breakfast

it’s not worth the time.

When I arrive, I start working immediately

I have no friends, and here, greetings are useless.

My wife calls, and I answer in a

monotonous voice, “I’m working.”

On my way back, I check the mailbox,

I see the bills stacked up

No one sends me letters.

It’s past dinnertime when I finally get home

A tray of food waits– covered and cold,

I eat dinner alone watching TV

Trying to keep the volume low.

I go to bed at midnight for my six hours of sleep

My dreams are now in black and white

I don’t see color anymore.

This, is the life, of an adult.

Rhea Roy Ganguly is twelve years and in seventh grade of Sartartia Middle School. She lives in Sugar Land with her parents and twin sister. Every two weeks she goes to the public library with her mother and is ready to pounce on the books as soon as she gets home. Often, she sneaks under the bed and reads with her phone light.