everything is done

i have the wherewithal to breathe by myself

my lungs work on their own

i have a tenderness to my skin,

a firmness to my feet,

a heart young enough to learn but old enough to remember 

“i wanna be happy, i’m ready to walk into my room without looking for you” plays on the highway 

i pass a billboard for a baby that was just born

recalling a laurel canyon know-it-all, desperate for the answers 

belonging to an ocean of aspiring philosophers 

they pine for enlightenment but will always fall just short of the core 

the center that every girl reaches by the time forbidden fruit’s consequences are felt

to them, words hold less meaning,

hurt nips but does not scathe,

bruises remain superficial

we were born to bleed;

blessed with an inextricable connection to one another

but cursed with the intolerable burden of constant awareness 

how can you begin to understand? 

that i am fallible too

this deity you once adorned 

now cast to the earth

i was just a girl