Mushroom Head

• Maren Gliddon, Grade 12
• Poetry
• 2020

Oversharing, never caring, unmending, unending -
Sun-kissed strawberries and hopeful wandering;
I’ll try soon, again and again -
To be a better person, now and then.

To have flowers grow from above your head,
The fantasies flow from the books that I’ve read,
And I’ll fall asleep with that on my mind;
And never that it might be alright.

I hate thinking about the stress of it all;
It’s gut wrenching and soft spoken.
I’m always late to the party -
And I’m always the first to leave.

To have mushrooms grow out of what once was your eyes,
So that only the sparrows can see you cry -
I might fall asleep with all this on my mind,
That maybe, quite soon, I’ll understand why.