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danielle-shorrPoems
We grew up Quickly Wishing to be older Wanting nothing more Than freedom 16 meant driver's license 18 meant cigarettes And 21 was left for liquor For gambling And finally calling yourself A grown up It was his birthday A few weeks ago The age We spend our whole lives Waiting to be And he came so close To being it 21 It has been Half a year Since his leaving So abrupt in its presence Death has a way Of shaking you Waking you up Only to have you fall back asleep Again And forget about it It's hard to remember someone is gone When you don't see them Everyday Loss is funny like that 21 You look through the texts On your phone Years back You didn't know him well But you knew him And past tense feels strange Knowing these kinds of things Are permanent 21 Your best friend Introduced you That night in September Spent filling lungs with smoke I think it was a high holiday The four of you Laughing over nothing The irony of it all Kills me 21 She loved him Still does 21 Taking hits Escalates Into much more One time Is all it takes 21 It is his birthday The first Without him here He can finally do All of the things We've been doing for years In secret In hushed voices And in hiding from our parents Except now it is legal Now it is allowed Now it is okay But it is not okay He is 21 And he is not here To celebrate He is 21 And his mother Is pouring a glass of wine Alone He is 21 And his birthday wishes Sound more like condolences There are words of grief Instead of cheers His facebook Is a collection of memories And emotions He will not be forgotten We swear 21 We grew up Wishing to be older Wanting nothing more Than freedom Age may not liberation But neither Is death 21 Make sure To have a drink For him.
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Oct 30, 2014
Oct 30, 2014 at 6:03 PM UTC
21 Years
We grew up Quickly Wishing to be older Wanting nothing more Than freedom 16 meant driver's license 18 meant cigarettes And 21 was left for liquor For gambling And finally calling yourself A grown up It was his birthday A few weeks ago The age We spend our whole lives Waiting to be And he came so close To being it 21 It has been Half a year Since his leaving So abrupt in its presence Death has a way Of shaking you Waking you up Only to have you fall back asleep Again And forget about it It's hard to remember someone is gone When you don't see them Everyday Loss is funny like that 21 You look through the texts On your phone Years back You didn't know him well But you knew him And past tense feels strange Knowing these kinds of things Are permanent 21 Your best friend Introduced you That night in September Spent filling lungs with smoke I think it was a high holiday The four of you Laughing over nothing The irony of it all Kills me 21 She loved him Still does 21 Taking hits Escalates Into much more One time Is all it takes 21 It is his birthday The first Without him here He can finally do All of the things We've been doing for years In secret In hushed voices And in hiding from our parents Except now it is legal Now it is allowed Now it is okay But it is not okay He is 21 And he is not here To celebrate He is 21 And his mother Is pouring a glass of wine Alone He is 21 And his birthday wishes Sound more like condolences There are words of grief Instead of cheers His facebook Is a collection of memories And emotions He will not be forgotten We swear 21 We grew up Wishing to be older Wanting nothing more Than freedom Age may not liberation But neither Is death 21 Make sure To have a drink For him.
danielle-shorr
Written by
danielle-shorr
American
Oct 30, 2014
Oct 30, 2014 at 6:03 PM UTC
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