I was born in 1994
I grew up in a purple house, the only one
like it in the neighborhood
We moved out when I was 10 and
the new owners have since painted it white
I didn't know I loved crickets
until our first night in this new place
sprawled out on the floor of my unpacked room
mesmerized by the shadowed ceiling and their bittersweet chirping outside
I felt blessed
Growing up, my mother taught me
how to be nice to other people
my father showed me
how to ride a bike
my sister taught me
how to tie my shoes
my brother showed me
how to tell time
and I taught myself
how to learn
I easily get lost in the library, sifting through the shelves
and I thought of the perfectly witty remark
right after you left
I've been a poet since I was 9
and a decent poet since I was 15
I didn't know I liked music
or musicians, for that matter
until I became one
willingly warping my fingers into gnarly calluses to suit the harsh demands of my lovely instrument
gratefully losing myself in a new piece
reveling in the feeling of being a part of something greater than myself
truly connecting with other people through the harmonious power of sound
I am rhythm
I am a musician
I've read the sonnets of Shakespeare
and the comics of Shulz
and I've taken life lessons from them both
At 11 I gave up meat and took up writing
Best decision of my life
I dream for the future
and dwell on the past
sometimes too much, to be honest
At 12 they mocked my poems
At 16 they wanted to publish me in the New York Times
which they did
My life has spanned
3 decades
2 centuries
and 1 millennium
and I'm only 18
I've cried until I couldn't breathe
and I've laughed until I couldn't see
I've witnessed so much beauty in this world
in small places
in open fields
in people
I hope it's enough
I keep my secrets guarded and my friends close
I believe in my friends
I believe in love
I sold the least amount of cookies in my entire Girl Scout troop
but I could jump Double-Dutch rope faster than the meanest 5th grader on the playground
My weapon of choice is a dictionary
I know how to spell d-e-f-i-n-i-t-e-l-y b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l
and someday I will be
I use the erasers on my pencils every day
and I will not end this poem
with a period
or an ellipsis, for that matter
because I am nowhere near finished
No, there's more to come in this life
Definitely
more
to
come