A year ago,

 the air

around me did not lift

me up like it

does now,

my tongue did not

slice the air

with the word “no”

without being caught in

the wind,

empty space

was something for

the air

to occupy

and I was meant

to shrink.

 

the air around me

has never caressed

my body

and guided me

into the space

I once thought

I did not belong in

as well as it does now

-i grew when i learned not to shrink