Words of a teenage escapist.

This one’s for the girls
who fumble with words when they talk
so they choose to write instead
because they are awkward when they speak
but passionate when handed pen and paper.
This one’s for the girls
who spent their time reading books
instead of playing with dolls,
for the girls who read under the covers
way past lights out
just to finish a chapter,
just for their eyes to be strained,
just to be left hanging,
just to feel a surge of relief,
just to lose themselves in a world beyond their reach.
This one’s for the girls
who grew up watching the two people who swore before the altar to love each other unconditionally
fight and make each other cry,
for the girls
who grew used to doors slamming,
to their mothers weeping,
to their fathers coming home during ungodly hours,
to forced smiles and suffocating hugs and no more stolen kisses.
This one’s for the girls
who endured it all
who never gave up even though they had reasons to surrender,
for the girls who chose to make lemonade
instead of making sour faces.
This one’s for the girls
who’ve never been in a relationship
but have had their hearts broken in more ways than one
by the people they care for and love most.
This one’s for the girls
who cry over petty things
like stray kittens
and empty promises
and last episodes
and the Pacific Ocean
and no more banana milk.
This one’s for the girls
who have turned themselves inside and out
hoping to find even just a little piece of beauty
jutting out from the ugliness that they shroud themselves in.
This one’s for the girls
with a plethora of emotions and feelings
both wanted and unwanted
both kept and unhidden
both wanting to fly high into the sky and sink into the deepest layers of the earth.
This one’s for the girls
who are hopeful but doubtful
who are strong yet weak
who are lethargic but driven
who are proud yet meek.
This one’s for the girls
who are splitting at the seams with dreams
but are being put down by the burdensome weight of reality
and have yet to wake up from their reverie.
I am no special snowflake,
so this goes out to all the girls
who are just like me.