to moleskine notebooks

i paired a new printed dress
with an old pair of broken-in sneakers,
reminding me of shy smiles at
sixteen –
the hope that first begun to burn in
these eyes.
it’s august 31st and i have finally
decided that i am happy
like an epiphany i want to yell
this across oceans telephone lines whisper it in the ears of all
the sad, lonely people i pass in
the streets because why
can’t we all feel this way at the
exact same moment.
i hadn’t taken the effort to dress femininely
in a while
so this weekend i have remembered how easy
it is to walk with a
graceful sway to the hips
because of the flowers pinned to my hair or the
full skirt swishing above my knees.
i am at a stage in my life where i feel good
in my own skin, powerful
with womanhood stuck
beneath my fingernails
stretching my limbs with a feline’s grace
to allow the barest hint oh my stomach to show.
i have learned what it is to
be at your lowest point
and with autumn just outside my
doorstep, i have embraced change;
embraced the me who has been searching for
adventure in all the wrong places,
faces,
without realizing i have found it
again and again.
in a month or so i turn nineteen,
it feels like it will be a good year for me.

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a/n: I haven't figured out why this smile is on my face just yet.