M. Hank

The toy falls 

faster 

faster 

closer to the ground 

its paws reaching out

it lands on the grass with a light thud

it hides there

waiting

quietly.

Moments slip away

faster than I'd like them to.

Moments I could hold onto forever

moments I would hold onto forever

if I were given the chance.

Although memories are forever,

I'm wearing the same dress I wore last year, on an evening that felt like moonlight even though the sky was still a milky purple-blue by the time we left, arms linked, laughter spilling over each other and turning the air fragrant, because back th

I heard rumors of a great ship,

full of great people.

Did they have room for me?

I swam by the ship

and to my surprise,

I was welcomed aboard,

beckoned,

appreciated,

cared for.

How can i think,
when i sit in classrooms built by men
to teach us how to think like them,
and i try—
god, i try to conjugate freedom
in a language that was never mine,
in a room that doesn't feel like home,

He flew into my life on a Tuesday. 

All feathers, no job. 

Smelled like breadcrumbs and bad decisions. 

He coo’d at me like I was the last French fry in a drive-thru bag. 

And I believed him.