Milky Way

By Amanda, 16

I’ll fold up the moon and put it in my pocket, 

So I can keep it with me wherever I go, 

So I will no longer have to crane my neck to look at it, 

So I will be able to take it out and admire it, 

I’ll carry the moon in my pocket and the stars in my heart.

I’ll carry galaxies within myself. 

You took me in,

Gave me everything I could not give myself,

Then tried to restrain me,

I’m not angry, I’m grieving. 

All of our happiness hinges on the balance 

Between the sun and the moon

And the earth and the sky, 

But you hacked at it with a machete. 

You painted the nebulas that I admire, 

You taught me how to catch the stars. 

You taught me how to be a cosmos.

I am all that you made me and more,

I am the center of my own universe.

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I wrote this poem as a response to everyone who has told me that I can’t do something. “Milky Way” is a poem of spite and retribution. Never let anyone tell you what you can and can’t do. You can change the world if you want to, you can catch the stars.

Instagram: @mandy_draz and @the_butterfy_jar

Photo by Jeremy Thomas