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corriefergusonbooks submitted a contest entry to Write a poem to the new 2022 you 2 years, 2 months ago
WINNER: New Year’s Dance
you come from a story of love
so it’s only natural for you to carry so much of it on your sleeve.
your mom believes in miracles because of your breath, so why shouldn’t you?
you come from thick texas drawls,
cigarette smoke,
hairspray,
and tents made out of bedsheets and dining chairs.
a student of opera
and a dropout almost-rockstar
smiled and decided that life
was found in each other,
your first example of juliet and romeo.
there’s a memory somewhere of you
in dad’s old studio
with big headphones on and a smile on your face
and that’s where you got your biggest gift
a strum of a guitar
and clatters of a drum kit
right in front of you.
your dad knew you would love it like he did
just as your mom knew you were a soprano
and from then on you let the music hold your hand
and put you to sleep.
you never lost it as you grew up
you measure your life with different songs
many different genres in your blood.
your grandma always knew you could dance
even if your body seemed to hold you captive
and that’s the kind of faith you believe in.
the kind of faith that doesn’t scream at you to repent
no kind of sin to confess
just belief in the people around you.
you carry that faith into the new year
as you dance with your girlfriend straight into midnight
and you notice how no one judges you for the way that you move.
your entire life, the bruises on your knees had been your identity
and you’d apologized for almost every step you had taken
until someone you had chosen bought you boots with easy zips on the side
and held your bones with such nuance
such marvel
in a way they had never been held before
held not out of obligation
but out of love.
so as you dance,
you know that you are beautiful.
and as you count down to a complete rotation,
you know
for the very first time
that you exist infinitely
that your soul has been made over
more times than you can fathom
and that there is no right or wrong way
to breathe
there is only life.
and under a new year’s sun,
you will no longer apologize
and you will dance without remorse.
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