Every age greets us with new challenges. I wrote this poem thinking about my relationship with Ciara this year: two women, ten years apart, trying to navigate our lives and this crazy city.
Blessings, 10 years ago
May you stop straightening your hair.
May you stop shaving your arm hair.
May you talk on the phone with friends for hours and never hang up.
May you hug your mother and forgive your dad.
May you walk home from school very, very slowly.
May you go to the movies with your mom every chance you get.
May you suspend your eye roll.
Blessings, today
May you breathe.
May you wait.
May you . . .
Blessings, 10 years from now
May you sit down every day at your desk and write.
May you own a proper desk.
May you stop worrying about what people think of you.
May you be kind and gentle to yourself.
May you have a job with benefits.
May you go to social gatherings without hesitation.
May you make new friends.
May you keep the old.