A girl, I met when she was just a baby
A girl, who I am now just starting to see as more
A girl, who is strong, and smart, and opinionated
A girl, whose ability to become friends with anyone
will always perplex me.

A girl, who is my sister
A girl, I hardly know
A girl, who I’ve known the longest.

A girl, who never answers her texts
A girl, whose favorite color is grey,
or orange, or whichever color I find most
disgusting at the time.

A girl, who likes her hair up
A girl, who likes her sour sweets
A girl, whose sport means
the most to her.

A girl, who loves
A girl, who is loved
A girl, whom I miss dearly.

I often think back
to that letter
I received.

About what would have
happened if I
had read

it instead of letting
my friends choose
our course.

I am sorry
for saying
goodbye

when I really
meant hello
I was young

I wasn't ready
but neither
were you.

I may be crying
but please do not ask
if I am okay

for I will only burst
like a dam
flooding a town

please do not ask
if I am okay
because you already
know the answer

lauren has
a cup of coffee
and a smile
on her face

even when exhausted
the smile
never fades

she dances
coffee in hand
through life
and in studio

willing to love all
who comes her way

I wasn't born here, yet here I am.
I don't come from turf green fields
My knees aren't stained from endless amounts of grass
I don't like to run, I don't like to yell
I don't like to kick spheres into boxes made of net.
Yet here I am.
I am with you, my mother, my father, my sister's coach
Her best friend, their family, wives, husbands, daughters, and sons.
I am not from here.
I am from tap shoes, ballet buns, pas de bourrées.
I am from time steps, chassés, and chaînés turns.
I am from music, motion, and love.
I wasn't born here, yet here I am.