maelynslavik

I hang candy necklaces from the tips of my fingers

All the way to your reaching palms.

We smile like we're kids again. Maybe we always were,

But who realizes that anymore?

I am eleven years old. I think freedom isn't what they say it is. 

I live in the land of the free. I am free 

in most ways. 

I can be a black belt. 

I can be a published poet. 

They are the flow

from which all grow.

Every water molecule,

all very miniscule,

pass through the membrane

with no strain.

In and out,

up and down,

side to side

1. Smile. Teachers like kids who smile, especially during classes when mind-numbingly boring concepts itch their way into your brain and eat away the inside. Yes, you don't like school. No, you can't say that. Smile, smile, smile.