Dear twenty-seventeen

Dear twenty-seventeen

there's a lot of things you showed me

like how time can move so slowly

then get faster than you'd like

there's a lot of things that happened 

 

like my highschool days at home

at the beginning of the year

when my plans were still unclear

from the early-morning Starbucks 

and art lessons downtown

just babysitting five rowdy kids

and studying on my own

it seems so long ago

 

like becoming a nanny

leaving Brookston, Indiana

and my family and my friends

and the combines and the cornfields

and a new chapter began

changing size three diapers

humming Evelyn the Beatles

and smiling into her eyes

strolling Cincinnati

with a blue-eyed baby and a dog

drinking keurig coffee

learning life in a big city

was a rhythm I could love

 

like going to see Europe

for a couple weeks in August

clutching my glossy passport 

and the tickets in my hand

getting drenched in Copenhagen

and the bright red ponchos given

on the boatride through the city

how I longed to stay for months

dancing on the beach in Italy

trying out new words in German

laughing, joking with my cousins

when I couldn't understand them

eating pretzels with Nutella

getting used to mineral water

climbing up a mountain path

and the tallest church steeple

shopping with my sister

gosh that makes me miss her

seeing castles, cities, rivers, alps 

someday we're going back 

 

like moving in to college

everything was shockingly new

and scary and I felt alone

but I wasn't, and I realized

getting packages from home

going to church, parties, class,

learning that I have a voice

and friends that have my back

 

like realizing how much there is

each day to just soak in

no matter where or when or how

just knowing that I'm here right now

with love and food and shelter 

and a year brimming full of good memories

and there's always more coming

and for that I will keep going,

seeking, listening, learning, loving

what a riot this year has been

and now as 'eighteen's settling in

I'll miss you but I'm moving on

dear twenty-seventeen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This poem is about: 
Me

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