I brave many scars,

From remarkable stupidity.

Pain, quick and sharp,

Or long and dull.

Aching.

White marks, skewed across me.

Inside of me.

Seen lightning hit,

Dangerous beauty,

Strike

Running wild.

Chasing my heart.

Failed at saving a

Dragon’s life.

Failure. Nothing I could do.

Failure.

Kissed my biggest crush,

My move,

My moment.

Finally.

Touched the sky

In my pointe shoes.

Invincible.

Froze my feet in

The Colorado River.

Still invincible.

I’ve been punched

In the face.

I threw a better one back.

Fiery temper.

Dark night.

Nose left unbroken.

Wore a snake for a bracelet,

Cool, alive, mystery.

Sailed through hell’s gate.

Tipped side to side,

Swallowed my fear.

Felt a foreign heat,

Tanning topless

On the beaches of Spain.

Seen friendships die.

With a broken heart.

Buried my Jeep

Doors deep in the mud.

Un-dug my forgotten happiness,

And found a new one,

All in the same day.

Complete euphoria.

Sang in front of crowds,

No fear.

Danced on stages in Peru.

No fear.

Felt the slime of a stingray

Run through my fingers.

Some fear.

I’ve tried skydiving

With a toy parachute.

Ended with a 5-year-old

Type of disappointment.

Hunted a blood trail,

Found no deer.

An unfamiliar type

Of disappointment.

I’ve seen the Milky Way,

Comets shoot across the sky,

Felt a sort of beautiful

Insignificance, acceptance, wonder, longing.

In the same second.

Climbed many trees, many mountains.

Found that the way down

Is way better with a friend.

Running headfirst into what comes next.

Pulled an all-nighter,

Once was enough.

Sleep and I are much too good of friends.

Sorry consciousness.

Been so happy I cried.

Rib-crushing hugs.

Been so sad I didn’t.

Heart-crushing absence.

Found home, in houses

That weren’t my own.

Remarkable love.

I was a 7-year-old Girl Scout.

Ancient history.

I’m now a 17-year-old

Work in progress.

To be continued.