Ever since I left
Things feel different now
Suddenly the air feels lighter
The breeze colder
The sky remains blue when I skip class
For a hot cup of coffee down the road
It tastes sweeter now
You always loved it black
So I make sure to add creamer
Ever since I left
Things feel different now
I give myself stick-and-pokes
On nights I need to feel alive
A different kind of wound
Just as permanent
A message left just underneath my skin
It calls me a delinquent
While it whispers something deeper
Ever since I left
Things feel different now
Leaves cover the barren trees
That line the path I ran along
To get far away from you
Away from the fork in the road
As if the distance would erase everything
And abandon it in the dust of the past
Buried alongside my childhood
Ever since I left
Things feel different now
A new chapter is unfolding
I grieve for a time I never knew
As I leave the fresh grave behind me
I walk by the bright green trees
Cold breeze in my hair
Coffee in my hand
Ink in my skin
Paisley Pereza (she/they) is a 17-year-old writer from Oregon who enjoys theater, music, and writing vent poems at 3 am. They're a junior in high school with big dreams and zero motivation. A self-declared comedian, this is their first publication.