Popcorn

Thank you for the warmth of the sun against my skin in summer.

Thank you for the leaves that fall in autumn.

Thank you for the fluffy snow that covers the ground in winter.

Thank you for the flowers that bloom in spring.

What I wish adults would understand

is that teenagers are just trying to find their place

in this messed up world.

Mom, I'm not trying to be rude to the house guests.

Dad, I can't help my neurodivergence.

Legally I am an adult.

18 going on 19.

According to most,

I still am a teen.

According to most,

I don’t seem like 18.

According to me,

I don’t think I’m ready to be an adult.

I hold my secrets in the shape of stars,

constellation-clustered candy like flaming balls of gas.

Sometimes they have five points.

Sometimes six.

Always, they burn

in that space inside your head

I went to the LGBTQ+ youth center for the first time.

For a year 

I stared at the website, 

wanting nothing more than to go.

When I finally went, on a Wednesday,