lay your head down
your short curls falling down your face
you’ve got no curtain to hide behind
and very few steps left to erase
honey, hold the stripey t-shirts
left strewn on the bed
the blue one still smells like red velvet
too small to fit
it’ll be gone before you know it, and with it the girl
who did as she was told
take a shower, half-lukewarm
i am a creature of routine
so i will ruin my hair before i go a day
without scrubbing my skin clean
without screaming in my hinto the pillow when no one is home
kicking it against the wall until you’re breathless and
scared of yourself, just a bit
you don’t know it, but i’m still three years old in my here’s
and i’m still hearing them tell me
that i’m bright for my age, i’ll do well in university
i’ll climb any mountain i’m presented, and everyone will cheer
but for each victory there is a crash, and a burn,
i’m crying in the passenger’s seat
‘cause i’ve got so many things i need to learn
and so little time left to read
and i’ll come out of this stronger
but i still don’t know what that means
still can’t rhyme for shit, feel myself
shrinking in my shoes
still stand before the crowd and wonder
whether it mattered; what’s still left to do
wonder how long it is
before i’m not remarkable
just another fish in the water, passing through