I. January - i would be bitter too, if i was always forgotten. i would be closed off and cold, fix my icy gaze upon anyone who dared to spite me. i wouldn't like myself. wouldn’t like always being forgotten. always being upstaged. i would grumble and sigh, and harden my heart until it froze over. 

II. February - i think secretly, i would despise my holiday. despise the pink and red roses, the gifts and gestures, the kisses and tears. who is my lover? who do i get to have? who will love me when i am short and sad? the world only loves me one day of the year.

III. March - constantly indecisive, i switch moods too fast to ever catch up to myself. one day i’m glowing, the next day i’m gone. there is a tension in my body, in this limbo, in this tightrope teetering between winter and spring. i clench my teeth and wait for the spasm to pass. flowers rip through my collarbones, and break bones while i scream until i become beautiful. 

IV. April - i want to dance with you. wrap you up in my shiny and new. i rain all day but i am wonderful too. every moment i am moving, doing, being something that they will adore. i blush, and flush and bat my eyelashes, which shine with diamond dew. 

V. May - i am racing, running, rushing towards summer. sweat trickles down my brow, slowly. my smile lengthens, stretching farther across the horizon, until my beaming face is all they can see. i am so inflated, so full of sweet air, that i am dying to burn it all out. i am good but i am restless, so breathless, and i need to be free. 

VI. June - the end is always a beginning, and what a beginning i am. take off your shoes, run away from work and breathe. remember how to lose yourself. remember how to succumb to the heat, to submerge yourself in water so blue it feels like a dream. 

VII. July - beach. sun. water. love. paris. sicily. venice. rome. screaming, singing, soaring, sky. late nights staring into your eyes. fire, feeling, fleeting, fun. i always want another one. 

VIII. August - my tan deepens as summer rolls along. yellowing at the edges, i embrace what’s coming and tilt my head up to the sun. if you hold my hand you can feel heat emanating from my skin, and if you rest your head upon my chest, you can hear the phantom wind of fall echoing throughout my ribcage. hold me as we say goodbye. please hold me as we say goodbye. 

IX. September - and so, we begin our closing show. i’ll hold on, for a while. remain nice and calm. but nothing lasts forever, and i must change back. so enjoy the way the cool air blows, the way heat evaporates into smoke, a bright blue sky framed by spotted trees. 

X. October - look deep into the crescent moon and you will find me there. between blazing reds, and cozy knit sweaters. in the chill up a spine, in the huff of your breath. in a place between shadow and light you will find me. in light autumn rain, and homecoming games. there. you will find me there. 

XI. November - do you know who i am? i am not quite sure either.

XII. December - it feels so good to be loved.