I think my parents deserve to be happy.

They deserve to laugh and sit on the floor and coo over babies. 

They deserve to talk in a language I don’t understand. 

They deserve to look at each other with love. 

They deserve to be more than just parents. 

They deserve to be people 

because they are more than just a vessel for life. 

They are life itself. 

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