Baggage

Photo and Poem by Olivia C

hellos are hard for me, because i know with that hello always comes a goodbye.

being a sensitive woman in a harsh world comes with baggage,

with every broken heart is another pair of funky socks, 

with every tear shed over each goodbye is another band tshirt i’ll wear every monday.

i love so deeply, and miss people even deeper.

i thrive off connection and flinch at the thought of it.

my now is not forever, my friends aren’t permamnent, my dog will age,

and someone always dies first. 

being aware of that at this age would make any other  fifteen year old feel present.

but to me, its just another load of dirty laundry to stuff into my too small suitcase.