Celesta Cox’s poem “I Remember” is a masterfully written poem that adolescent readers or anyone who knows what it feels like to be a teenager, will relate to. In this poem, Cox starts off with a memory of her as a child. “I wanted to hold the moon/I wanted to read every book/I wanted to fix every light bulb.” As a child, she held many dreams and hopes for the future. She wanted to accomplish so much in life and dreamed of doing things like holding the moon. Of course, holding the moon was impossible but it was the simple dream of just wanting to do so that made that memory worth looking back. Cox’s use of past tense shows how as she grew older, her dreams were no longer as vibrant and imaginative. Growing up has left her with only “shattered dreams.”
           This poem really struck a chord as a I realized that Celesta Cox was right. As you grow older, your dreams tend to fade out and they are no longer as beautiful as they once were when you were a child. Being a caught up in between childhood and adulthood is difficult because, like Cox states, you are unsure of whether to remember or forget. Remembering means going back those days when your dreams were still colorful and alive, when your goals weren't to become a lawyer or a doctor but to hold the moon. But remembering is painful because all you’re ever aware of is the person you’ve lost and the person you've become, yet you still can't forget because those childish moments were so much more beautiful and innocent than the present.