Popcorn

i hope that you rest easy as the world

tumbles down into fire

for you did everything you could

& we didn't do enough. it was never

your fate to carry the failures of

common sense & education, but now

"I don't care," I say.

Don't care.

Don't.

Do not.

Don't want to.

Can't.

Scared to.

You look at me.

Ask, "What about your friends?"

Yes, what about them, self?

Tell me that I’m beautiful without telling me

Tell me that 

I make you smile

Tell me that

I’m smart

Tell me that

I make your day

Golden.

Glistening in the sunlight.

The smooth, metallic surface felt too fine to touch.

Like a perfectly formed apple, round and shiny

As small as a dollar coin.

Though it weighed much more than you’d think

I put my turn signal on and pull off of the pavement. I open my car door and breathe in the spring air. I see new leaves, green, on the trees, and potholes that I dodge and jump as I start skipping.