when you were young

when you were young

so little

nothing mattered

you didn't have a care in the world

floating free

you were so young &

you had no idea you'd be propelled

into the jarring responsibilities of adulthood

all the new feelings

the angst

all the shit you began to harbor

ready to explode forth from the walls of your skull

and as you meet with this new boy

who makes you feel vulnerable

and more like a human being

as you eat these chicken fingers

(actually eat them, for once)

you're reminded of how you used to not finish them

used to hide your chicken fingers in the sauce from your dad

at Whataburger when you were little

and how life was much simpler then

yet filled with its own fears & anxieties

ready to blossom