What Has Passed

Just the other day, I glanced out my window while driving down Route 10. I saw a group of 3 or 4 preteen boys walking, laughing, smiling. They seemed to be enjoying each others' presence, like friends do. While it was unusual to see children walking along a busy road, this thought didn't fully cross my mind. The sun was setting. It was hot, but driving with the windows open welcomed a breeze, cool enough for easy inhales, and even easier exhales. After seeing these boys, a strange feeling of nostalgia came over me. It was both a longing for the past and an acceptance of what has passed. I will never be 13 years old with my friends again. I will never again be able to enjoy the freedom of a middle school summer, one that offers childhood on the brink of adulthood, being able to dream of a grown up life while still having the time to admire it. I'll never be a kid again. Or a teenager, for that matter. But I can glance out my car window and understand what it feels like to be one. More importantly, I know what it feels like to look back and acknowledge a growth. As I looked back at the road ahead, I blinked away tears tempted to fill my eyes and continued to where I was headed.

A Bug Bite

stings
sometimes,
you don't even feel it
but then a bump forms
you scratch the itch
you try to ignore it, give it some time, rub some gloppy pink stuff on it, and...

it's still there
you know it is
so you scratch at it again
and again
you go for a bike ride to feel the wind against
it
helps to forget
and remember

flip't

we share this
overpopulated world
one searching for another
we form communities
to feel connected
with intent
we believe
we hold the resources
needs addressed
aware of risks
each individual exists
contributing to the dynamics
forming an identity
a family
a home
cohesively united

i want the world to be

cohesively united
a home
a family
forming an identity
contributing to the dynamics
each individual exists
aware of risks
needs addressed
we hold the resources
we believe
with intent
to feel connected
we form communities
one searching for another
overpopulated world
we share this

"miss independent"

the tv is rolling, and the music is on
but i'm out the window, and you're lost and gone

birds flying high and the earth's core down low
am i stuck in between? i suppose you don't know...

if i'm anything, anything, nothing at all
you've seen my summer, but you missed the fall

no wings to lift me and no roots reaching down
take a look through me, my skin's a nightgown

you see it, i know, it's a poor disguise
just look for my hand, and grip with your eyes

until you decide where you belong
i'll find who i am, very sure, i'll be strong

one love, one life, let's get together and feel all right.

but if you have many loves
and only one life
how do you get yourself together to feel all right?

recently, i have learned that just because a person is homeless does not make them less of a person
and just because one has a home does not mean they are whole
because holes can form on solid ground
and solid ground self inflicts
drilling holes
killing souls
growth and change have minds of their own
taking us wherever they go
and we follow, abiding by their unnatural laws
because we are just clauses, incomplete

standing alone

afraid of pauses
we must keep going going going
before they tow our roadway to somewhere
wherever that may be
let's go there
they're waiting
and there's no waiting
because when you're wading in water
you never know when
or where
the tide will take you

After seeing my high school's drama for the first time as a graduate

Disconnected.
I
feel
dis
connect-
ed
What was there
is gone.
Replaced by what is
here,
now.
This isn’t bad.
But I loved that.
Maybe tomorrow I’ll say I love this.
But that is still gone.
And part of me is, too.