Where I'm From

i come from

sun-soaked afternoons

heartbeats pounding in sync

hands soaked in the bliss of ignorance

i come from

somewhere over the rainbow

where our treasure chests

hold pride, success, and hidden failures

i come from

a place where i hold my loved ones dear

and my numbers dearer,

digits that dictate lives under the acronym

G.P.A

i come from

used-to-be sunny afternoons

overcast by that one test i failed,

heartbeats pounding in sync

each beat laden with that omnipresent, overwhelming what if?,

hands soaked in the sweat and tears of late nights poring over books

i come from

a place where i wonder if my everything

will never be quite there and

never quite enough.

but

i come from

someplace where i’m learning that sometimes my Worry

only haunts me because i

have cleared a space for it in my living room,

allowed it to sit for a minute too long,

lingering on the “what if” instead of the “what now”

i come from

an idyllic town teetering on the edge of june

i’ve finally started my spring cleaning

and i know i’m a little late

but yesterday, i tidied the drawers

i threw out the “what ifs”

i ushered Worry out the door

and left its baggage on the curb

i come from

a place where Worry has overstayed its welcome

and no longer takes up my couches

i come from

a place where my heart now beats with the rhythm

of living in the “now”.