Poems
Is There More Than One Perfect?
I want to be perfect
Like the pretty girls in magazines
With the beautiful bodies
That all look the same
I see them in the air
They stole my self-esteem
They show me what I don’t have
And tell me what I want
They don’t ask whether I want to cake make-up on my face
Or ask if I want any more to eat
They know what I want
They told me what I want
I wanted it
But not the same way they got it
They think there is only one way to get it
They made me want their only way
I want to have surgery to change my body as if it were nothing
I want to diet until I fade away
I want to be perfect
I steal back my self-esteem
I will find my own way
I will get my beauty sleep
I will eat when I’m hungry
My body will be happy with me
That is my perfect
I want to be perfect
Not like the fake girls in the magazines
With unnatural bodies
I want to be perfect
Healthy and strong and happy and free
I want to be perfect
But I want to be me
Bounce
A place I can bounce to the moon
The woven mat saves me from the ground and bounces me up again
Filled with everlasting games
Spinning, flipping, seeing who can get closest to the stars
Energy filling my legs and power shooting out my toes
A place where you’re not afraid to fall
Where you can take chances you’re not willing to risk on true ground
A place not only for bouncing
But a place where you can share your deepest secrets with friends
The springs promise not to tell
When we’re on it, it’s ours
A place with no worries
Far enough from the world outside the net that not even a mouse can hear us
This is a place where I can let my mind go free and wonder
A place where I feel home
My trampoline
Where I’m From
I am from bright blue eyes like the ocean
From let’s just say “we’re never early” and embarrassing wide flat feet
I am from “nose goes” and “spot jacks”
I am from hilarious pizza pranks
From the on-going microwave and giving Buddy a fortune cookie every time we
have Chinese food
I am from nerve racking wildfires and my grandpa’s heartbreaking death
I am from sweet sticky hokey pokey eaten by chocolate
From gooey quesadillas and famous matzaball soup
I am from Fat Freddy’s Drop telling me the party’s starting and welcome home of Uncle Dave
I am from the menorah in the cabinet eager for Hanukkah
From opening presents from New Zealand on Christmas eve
All of this I keep in my heart
These are the parts of my life
I will always remember
I want to be perfect
Like the pretty girls in magazines
With the beautiful bodies
That all look the same
I see them in the air
They stole my self-esteem
They show me what I don’t have
And tell me what I want
They don’t ask whether I want to cake make-up on my face
Or ask if I want any more to eat
They know what I want
They told me what I want
I wanted it
But not the same way they got it
They think there is only one way to get it
They made me want their only way
I want to have surgery to change my body as if it were nothing
I want to diet until I fade away
I want to be perfect
I steal back my self-esteem
I will find my own way
I will get my beauty sleep
I will eat when I’m hungry
My body will be happy with me
That is my perfect
I want to be perfect
Not like the fake girls in the magazines
With unnatural bodies
I want to be perfect
Healthy and strong and happy and free
I want to be perfect
But I want to be me
Bounce
A place I can bounce to the moon
The woven mat saves me from the ground and bounces me up again
Filled with everlasting games
Spinning, flipping, seeing who can get closest to the stars
Energy filling my legs and power shooting out my toes
A place where you’re not afraid to fall
Where you can take chances you’re not willing to risk on true ground
A place not only for bouncing
But a place where you can share your deepest secrets with friends
The springs promise not to tell
When we’re on it, it’s ours
A place with no worries
Far enough from the world outside the net that not even a mouse can hear us
This is a place where I can let my mind go free and wonder
A place where I feel home
My trampoline
Where I’m From
I am from bright blue eyes like the ocean
From let’s just say “we’re never early” and embarrassing wide flat feet
I am from “nose goes” and “spot jacks”
I am from hilarious pizza pranks
From the on-going microwave and giving Buddy a fortune cookie every time we
have Chinese food
I am from nerve racking wildfires and my grandpa’s heartbreaking death
I am from sweet sticky hokey pokey eaten by chocolate
From gooey quesadillas and famous matzaball soup
I am from Fat Freddy’s Drop telling me the party’s starting and welcome home of Uncle Dave
I am from the menorah in the cabinet eager for Hanukkah
From opening presents from New Zealand on Christmas eve
All of this I keep in my heart
These are the parts of my life
I will always remember