My life is kept in boxes
My life is kept in books
My life is printed and written down
in all the crannies and the nooks
You can watch me grow up
over and over in each years picture
smiling ear to ear
in the yearbooks scripture
but thats just a snapshot of me
taken at a posed moment in time
thats just a snapshot of me
that was quickly left behind
it doesnt show the memories
I have of halls and lockers
it doesnt show the memories
of watching my brothers soccer
it doesnt show the struggle
of being “the imaginary friend girl”
it doesnt show the awkwardness
of hair that when cut began to curl
it doesnt show the pain
of watching a friend begin to cut
her parents had just divorced
and she wanted to give up
it doesnt show the fear
i had those long nights
when friends would call wanting to end it
in the middle of the night
it doesnt show the fun
of passing around a notebook
writing a story pretending to be characters
from our favorite in class book
it doesnt show the joy
of graduating just fine
or of Warhammer meetings after school
or of getting to the bus on time
But now my life is kept in boxes
And my life is kept in books
Filling cardboard to the brim and hiding it
in the crannies and the nooks
Inside is my school work
My drawings and my poems
Inside is my graduation invites
And the yearbooks I keep at home.
My life is kept in boxes
My life is kept in books.
I plan to keep filling out
The crannies and the nooks.
E. Lexi Abbott 