To the bright-eyed girl who did not know heartache,
Who kept her insecurities on the shelf,
You did the best with what you had,
You did not have to hate yourself.

You look like a boy,
You are short with no chest,
Those words would come to hurt,
Grow like poison in my mind.

To the first boy I loved,
Tall like a California redwood,
Thanks for making my young heart flutter,
An unrequited love that never got far.

To my high school crushes,
I have lost count over the years,
You all made me work too hard,
Some harder than the rest.

To the girl in her early 20’s,
You ran through many hearts these years,
Flitting from flower to flower,
Never stopping to enjoy the nectar.

To the boy who left feeling uncertain,
Who gave nothing but kind words.
Foolish is too nice a word for me,
I feel regret from those days.

To the girl wore a mask for many years,
Trying to blend in with the birds,
You never gave yourself a chance,
Surrounding yourself with fakeness.

To the man who had my heart for years,
The constant back and forth wore me down,
Your chapter has closed in my story,
It will always be a favourite.

To the Australian who showed me infatuation,
A short, sweet August we shared,
That dragged until the leaves changed,
Pulling at me by the hairs.

To the musician who sauntered in,
Strumming sweet musings,
These short bursts of synergy were fun,
The music slowly faded with every passing step.

To the friends who’ve been around for a while,
Seen the valleys and peaks of my life,
There’s another bend around the corner,
Will you be shotgun, while I drive?

To the girl leaving this bittersweet decade,
So much life left to live,
Bask in the Sunday mornings,
Dive into the stillness of it all.