No Matter the Wreckage

by Sarah Kay

but in my dreams you spin around me so fast, I always wake up dizzy.

My world was the size of a crayon box, and it took every color to draw her.

They are laughing through the speaker phone, they are laughing, and they are driving on a highway they have not been on before. My mother says, Oops, I think we’ve gotten lost! We might have to call you back. They forget that I am on the line, point out street corners that are named the wrong names, notice trees they could have sworn they passed sometime before.

that one was my absolute favorite, as it perfectly describes the feeling of being deeply underestimated and overlooked by your parents. I wish I’d read this sooner

I don’t think I actually remember this day. I don’t think the scene in my head is real—it must instead be the retelling of the story that I have memorized and rehearsed—

that my mind has filled in the gaps.

where in the world did you find all that thunder?

There have never been any seat belts on your side of the car.

I hope you know that you were never meant to wear my shadow.

When I meet you, in that moment, I am no longer a part of your future. I start quickly becoming part of your past. But in that instant, I get to share a part of your present. And you get to share a part of mine. And that is the greatest present of all.

It sounds silly now, with you so far on your way to the future, and me so very here.

And no matter how many land mines erupt in a minute, be sure your mind lands on the beauty of this funny place called life.