songs of youth for five miles

palm frond sophomore

year hotel, bouncing

rampant on humid

tile, pure joy.

violet, the most violent,

will he ever ask

how dark

my golden adolescence is?

freshly seventeen, or was it sixteen?

old enough to drive,

old enough to feel young,

shift gears leaving the church.

settling cold takes me

to the city, new

order to life, new friends,

aged enough to take a bite

from that gritty chocolate.

they’d only ever played

this one live.

now i have headphones

and he has headphones, and we

pressed play

in time.

when the wildest moments

were those few minutes

driving home from school—

wanting to be the

woman.

was it english class?

it was. i say

my favorite quote comes

from an indie band:

sweeter, cooler, frozen,

tangerine.

the dirt road is a solar

journey.

first vinyl, as loud as loud

felt, laying on the loft

carpet, staring at the ceiling

fan, you—

he came right down

and sang to

me.

spring has sprung, ripely

eighteen, climb

the biggest tree.