Growing Up

When did 
my greedy paws 
start feeding my brother and sister? 

When did 
my elders fables 
revamp from boring to brilliant? 

When did 
I stop wailing to the world 
and start muting my tears in the bathroom?

When did 
clowning with boys 
turn into warnings about their evil ways? 

And when did I realize that time on the bus when the boy bullied my braids ran deeper and darker like the glow of my skin? 

When did I start growing up? 
 

Geri

MD

17 years old

More by Geri

  • What Will It Take?

    At parties I sit quiet and calculate my words

    I avoid the eyes of guys and stare at my phone. 

    After all that hiding, 

    dissatisfaction feels like heartburn, 

  • Inevitable

    crying over a simple email 

    the lasts build a lump in my throat 

    last time beaming onstage 

    signing yearbooks 

    wearing a stiff blue skirt 

  • Battle Cries

    One girl’s lanky frame against the dark turf field,

    lit up by fluorescent lights 

    She saunters toward the building 

    holding another girl’s hand