your vision, your voice
Hard or soft shells
Meat to eat
Top with lettuce
And tomatoes
A side of chips
A side of beans
Lime ready to be squeezed into the taco
Cilantro ready to be dropped in the taco
Salsa ready to be dipped in by a chip
And queso ready to be dipped in by a chip
The family is waiting for the food to be on the table
And we all thank God for the food
Pristine
Enchanted
Radiant
Fake
Extraordinary
Confident
Terrific in every way
Everyone is compared to perfect
It’s almost impossible to think for yourself
Some look at themselves and weep
Only because one disagreed
Cry because you hate how you look
Cry like a life had been took
And cry because you feel weak
Perfect is impossible to achieve
So don’t hurt or grieve over something unrealistic
And don’t let the materialistic girls put you down
Confident people don’t make others feel low
Confident people let you grow into the person you strive to be
and watch you become the person you’ve had the potential to be all along.
I used to have 1 class, but now I have 8
I used to have a backpack, now I have a locker
I used to have freetime, but now I have homework
I used to have recess, but now I don’t
I used to have time to get to class, but now I have 4 minutes
I used to be driven to school, but now I take bus
I used to be in elementary school, but now I’m in middle school.
The cool breezes on my neck walking around the neighborhood
Fall leaves on the trees all in red, orange, yellow, and brown
The crunch the dead leaves make when you step and shatter them.
The warm and comfy feeling of when I walk in my heated home
Fluffy warm sweaters to comfort and keep me warm
Sipping apple cider outside on my front porch
Watching as the wind slowly carries the colorful leaves all the way to the ground
Cute decor in beige, brown, and orange lines along neighbors’ porches
A perfect balance of mostly cold weather
Feeling the almost grasp of the two fall holidays coming soon
Feeling as if I want this season to last forever
The moldy grass from last year
The next door neighbors cat
The teeth that are as sharp as scissors
The tongue that has licked everything
Half of their dinner from last year
The teeth that your mom tried to brush 7 years ago
The leaves fall fast, leaving their tree bare
The wind is like a puppeteer,
Making the them dance with invisible strings
The ground not visible anymore underneath the colorful sea of leaves
The autumn chill creeping inside the sleeves of coats and the in cracks of windows
The sky crowded with gray clouds,
And the chance of rain is in the air
Everything is just nothing
Just a void of endless darkness
The world can be dark
Even if you choose to embark
Maybe running is not always an option
Just an opinion
If you run, it will catch you
Maybe don’t run from it, but try and live with it
Darkness is solitude just trying to live with you
Just try something new
Just find a light in the darkness
And maybe you can discover something new, or be heartless
Books high and low
The strong old smell of pages
Nothing but stories
I’m from the ranches and farm animals to the mall.
From riding horses to hot pink.
From a loving family that I love so much.
From gymnastics to dance.
From boot-cut jeans to skirts.
I’m from Ryan and Berry.
I’m from the borrowed pages I have read,
from streetlights and stop signs and long winding sidewalks.
I’m from the cat sitting on the windowsill and the musty rugs beneath my feet.
I’m from the orchid resting on the counter, whose petals never fell nor died, but stood their ground in the warm sunlight.
I’m from the snowfall that engulfed the backyard, turning it into a snowy wonderland,
from the stormy clouds above my head and the raindrops that dotted the windows.
I am from the gumdrops my grandpa ate and the sweaters my grandma knit.
I’m from “our father, who art in heaven” and the golden chapel of the church I spent the early hours of my Sundays in.
I am from the stars that glimmered right outside my bedroom window, so bright and vibrant, I could almost hear them tapping on the glass, and the starless nights, whose inky blackness would drown out all light and gently lull me to sleep.
I’m from 939 30th avenue, the home I grew up in,
from the red-painted door and the lucky horse shoe my mom hung above it.
I am from all these things and more, from the memories I cherish and the things yet to come.