An Inventory of Self

My name is Sarah.
I am 17 years old.
I wish my name wasn’t Sarah,
But I can’t think of a name I like any better.

Tears tint my eyes green, but no one ever notices.
Most people assure me they’re brown.
I like it when a boy tells me they’re hazel.

My hair is chopped short.
I miss my hair being long but my patience to grow it out is just as
short as my hair usually is.

Sometimes, I wear a cross.

I have a dog, and I have a mother.
I like the first one better.
My father takes me to school every morning and
it makes me want to learn to never drive.
I have a sister, but she lives so far away I don’t
know if it still counts.

I prefer to not ask questions
because I’m not really looking for any answers.
Instead I eavesdrop on the conversations of people I
don’t even know.

(Obligatory Lady Gaga reference)




When I walk, I think
about how people see me walking.
And when I ride my bike I listen to Noah and the Whale,
and that makes me feel like the opening sequence of a movie.

I like it when my father makes me dinner
and when my brother brings me comic books about Robin.

Sometimes my sister takes me to see movies
but I only like to go when it’s dark outside.
We always see movies we don’t want to see
only to be able to say we saw them.

I hate comma splices.

When I wake up, I always think of a certain person
(even if that person doesn’t think about me.)

I wish I had a tail, because
I think tails have a certain appeal.
And if humans had tails it might knock our
egos down where they belong:
with the animals.






I hate happy couples;
I wish I was a happy couple.

I like bright, bloody lipstick
and wearing dresses.
High-heels are my favorite
and if I could wear them to school
without looking trashy
I would.

I read Billy Collins and
e. e. cummings
religiously, habitually.
I start poetry books at the end and
dog ear my favorite pages.

I do not believe in love, but I hope someone will prove me wrong.
I think I know the
man I will marry already.

I like to draw and
I write a lot but I do
not consider myself an artist.
Artists change the world.

I want 3 children:
Boy,
Girl,
Boy.
That way the middle child is still special.

I wonder if my death will impact the world, a ripple,
an explosion.
I hope so.