I refuse to give my childhood away.
I ask forgiveness
for what time has done to it.
But I still know how to stand
as quiet as a tree waking up.
To put my arms around the sky
and throw salt on the tails of birds.
I still want to yell and be scolded.
To open up the earth and see inside.
I want to go to heaven
as soon as my parents
tuck me into bed,
and wake up in the morning,
and be home,
never afraid to be alive.
The book The House of the World has been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and is now available on Amazon.