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