I like sunsets with purple clouds
being chastised because I’ve only read one Harry Potter book
my five-pound dog who yips at the doorbell in a repeating attempt to prove she’s brave
cats so desperate for attention they rub against your legs
rebirths of lost souls like boats finding shores after days of being lost at sea
laughing when accidentally making horrible screeching sounds on my violin
releasing my frustration for my un-flawless piano playing with an occasional crash of my hands on the keyboard
I like celebrations withheld because they’re more invigorating when I’m by myself
Music that you can’t help but participate in- With my headphones in I mouth the lyrics as I sit on the bus and subsequently laugh at the funny stare I get from the girl across the aisle
books that make me cry and treat me like a friend and that take me away from all the crap in the world
I like scolding myself after saying something awkward
Trying to describe pain that’s more intense than you truthfully know words for
sorrow that build you up like rain builds flowers
flowers that are insanely vivid colors full of unique vivaciousness
poetry that makes me want to shout and jump and spend all night with a pencil in my hand
only to write nothing of any significance
And I like a lack of sleep because it makes you appreciate rest and deep slumbers
I like dreams unspoken but never, EVER forgotten
and I like jokes, even the kind with stupid puns because jokes are an excuse to unleash
laughter, of which my favorite kind is the chortling, shaking, embarrassing kind which I try to
replace with a dainty giggle when I’m on a date
or at least I assume because I’ve never been on a date and I like
spending Friday nights with chocolate and a book
laughing to myself
the awkward feeling that seeps into a room when I’m the only one laughing
people who tell me I’m cute even though sometimes the way they say it is insulting
and I like clapping to the beat when I’m dancing even though I heard that’s what old people do
And I like being made fun of by my dad when I sit around the house knitting
(which is a very practical skill, by the way)
And I like the summoning power a loaf of bread gives me on the shores of a pond that houses a grand population of ducks
sentences that don’t make sense
Pens that write with smooth ink, creating lines on pages and pages
words like collywobbles
Sentences containing words like collywobbles
and I love the way rain smells
smiling when my sister sings while vacuuming because she thinks no one can hear her
the way blue looks
and movies that make you shed a tear and the girl in the row behind you sob with all her might
victorious punches into the air that end in shattered light bulbs
losing with the grace of a ballet-loving elephant
I like feeling beautiful in sweatpants
I like standing on my tiptoes and reaching my face into a tree to smell the spring blossoms
I like enjoying myself and pretending that I don’t have to grow up
Life is hard and I like that
I don’t understand it but I appreciate it
and I like threatening to punch people in the throat when they’re being stupid
and I like dealing with getting sixth place in a race during a track meet
and first in another because I was the only one who showed up
and wow do I love sunshine
and I like missing it when the grey clouds do their little dance across the sky
lengthy laments about everything
Yet nothing
and getting fifteen stitches for tripping -- scars just prove I am stronger than whatever wanted to defeat me
and I like poetry
I think one day poetry might save the world.
I like abrupt endings
(sometimes)