up.
seven o’clock, monday.
breathe in, breathe out.
look in the mirror, tell yourself it’s okay.
get dressed, eat breakfast, finish homework
convince yourself it’ll all be worth it.
drive yourself to school, then sit in the car for five minutes.
what am i waiting for? i’m gonna be late.
say hi to your friends, all hugs and smiles
there’s no time to tell them how tired you are.
class to class, push past people in the hall.
don’t think about how you don’t know where you’re going
don’t think about how you don’t know who you are
or who you will be
don’t think about the faces and names you’ll forget
when you’re gray and half-gone.
breathe in, breathe out.
look in the mirror, tell yourself it’s okay.
keep going.
and do it all
again.
