As I Stand, Claire's Poem

“claire” as I stand on this 16th of february,2020

I am a loud-spoken activist who gets excited about plants and rock climbing
I love sunsets even more than sunrises
Because while nothing beats falling asleep in the Red River Gorge and waking up to the soft
Pinks yellows of the morning sun, there is something about
The way the sun sets the sky aflame before it says goodnight
I’ve visited a lot of places—I love to travel—but I will never say I’ve seen enough
I want to go everywhere there is to go,
Do everything there is to do
I love to dance but I’m sometimes too hard on myself
Freedom of self-expression is something that I’m working on
I used to love Merlin and Harry Potter—and deep down, I still do
I like minimalism but I can’t get rid of clothes very well, thinking
“Maybe one day…” But I won’t
So forgotten shirts hang in abundance in my closet
I like big earrings and purple lipstick
I’m not sure why I cut my bangs… Or pierced my nose…or got any of my tattoos
But I did—because that’s what I do—because I’m impulsive
And contentious
I’ll never stand quiet at the face of injustice. You can count on me
for confrontation, but only if it’s absolutely necessary
See, I’m actually quite shy until you really get to know me
I hate iPhones and computers
Yet I have both
I’ll listen to the same new song on repeat until I fall asleep
With it ringing in my ears, silently
I’m a bad vegan—because I love cookies too much
Pulled out exactly three minutes before they’re really done
I love chocolate icing with a spoon
I’m a terrible baker, chef, etc.
Because I am laughably impatient
I’ll yell at you for not recycling—I am known to scavenge through the trash
For a soda can that should’ve been tossed in the other bin
I love my family more than anything
I’m tired of searching for “THETRUTH”
But I am highly existential
I love running—sometimes—but always through the woods
I’ve occasionally been really into yoga
I will always bring it back to climate change
“I want to be an ethnobotanist when I grow up”
I love The Conference of the Birds and Andy Shauf
I love running into friends in public places
I like to pretend to be a dendrologist but somehow novices catch my bluff before even I do
I’m passionate about learning
I love the sunshine—it makes me laugh
I love Christmas lights but I hate
How much energy they waste
I secretly love to sing
I’m inching myself out of depression
I am hopelessly nostalgic
But I am so glad for my precious memories
I love Kentucky,
And I am weirdly insistent that it’s the South
I love deeply and completely, never knowing when to stop
I love flowery weeds
And sunbathing in the grass
And the chimes on my mother’s patio singing that it’s spring
Or otherwise crying for it
“Pride and Prejudice” is my favorite movie—I’ve seen it at least twenty times
I ride a Pennyboard to class
I love calendars and agendas
But I’m terrible at keeping them
I’ve never really played a video game
I don’t have social media but I check my email constantly
I can be a lot sometimes
I’m regularly late but I get stressed out
When it’s time to leave
I will always, without fail, fall asleep
During your favorite movie
I eat way too many pancakes
I like rocks but I hate geology
I think that I’m hilarious
I believe deeply In fortune cookies and knocking on wood
And I trust in nothing more
Than a pinky swear
Meaning I am very superstitious
I pretty much only shop at Goodwill
I get great joy out of walking in time with the music and I always try to step
In patterns with the sidewalk cracks
I can’t sit still for very long
And I hate standing
I’m very busy
I am afraid of the dark
I’m positively uncertain
About anything
And I’m passionate
About everything
I’m not sure how to finish writing this
THEEND.