By Emily Fitzpatrick
I choose to live to see out the autumn
as it paints the streets with hues of fire –
burning that which is not worth keeping,
leaving my shoulders bare, but lighter.
I choose to live to see the midday sun
weave through pine trees in Poland,
to see how the moss glistens under its touch
and how the mist dances coyly in its gaze.
I choose to live to feel the bass in my teeth
at a concert I haven’t budgeted for,
to feel the noise seep into my body
until I am consumed by soundwaves and held close.
I choose to live to hear you laugh,
and to see you shine as you do it,
bursting with light that cuts through the
darkness my eyes had adjusted to.
I choose to live to see the stars
unfettered by light pollution,
to learn the constellations (finally)
and to know that you see them too.
I choose to live to swim in open water,
to feel the biting cold fade to numbness,
and then warmth. To float on my back
and let the waves flood my ears.
I choose to live until I can write in free verse
and it’s not just prose with line breaks.
So I will live for a long while yet –
I am way better with a rhyme scheme.
Most of all I choose to live in the hopes that one day
I will no longer have to choose;
I will simply do.
And when that day comes, I promise,
you will be the first to know.
Featured Image – Tashy Back