The paragraphs you send me are long, 

certain, 

and completely free; 

they take flight around my mind like gentle songbirds, 

today i am sixteen,

but in five days i turn seventeen

i lie on the bridge between my childhood,

and the promising future ahead of me.

as i held dearly onto my most beloved stuffed animal,

There’s a squishy feeling, like your fingers  
pressed into soft dough,  
the way your body sinks  
into the warm, endless bed of a blanket.  

far away from my friends as they speak,

i never liked feeling alone. 

i never liked feeling left out.

but here i am, 

whenever i speak,

my words don't even go into one ear of any of my friends,