twelve months of dreaming

I have this dream

where the sky is dark,

moon illuminating,

faded stars surrounding it,

that I gaze at from 

the top of my roof.

I have this dream

where I run around in

a field with my best friend

and flowers of our laughter

begin to bloom,

as we enjoy these nights

while we’re still young.

I have this dream

where I bike through 

my neighborhood,

watching the golden sunset

blanket the houses

as I ride by in silence.

I have this dream

where my friend

drives me around at night,

and we blast our music loud

with our takeout in hand,

as our eyes absorb the brightness

of each stoplight.

I have this dream

where my summers

stopped feeling lifeless,

where summer work

stopped being handed out,

where the word “teenager”

stopped sounding like “adult”.

I have this dream

where my freedom

was granted,

where smiling

brought you back to life,

where being a teenager

was more about

taking advantage of time

and not preparing for something

too far away to even think about.