Downstream

IIf you knew me before you would have known that I
was wild and unashamed
that I hold my teenage self in more esteem than
most contemporary adults
that the child of me was inundated by internal rivers
and rode the rapids with a clarity

If you knew me before
you would have seen the moment that shame took over
the moment I began to shrink
You would see the broken oars rushed upon the shore
and a pale white hand reaching just above the surface

If you knew me before
my wild blue hair would make sense now
Yet even its vivid hues, so perfectly mimicking those rivers
fade next to the temerity it took to keep living

So, if you knew me then
if you really knew me then
You would stand in a goddamn ovation for my return home
guiding myself downstream

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