(a) Use friends as rulers
run your pen along their spines
hold the world against them
to see if it lines up
(b) Treat life like mystery murders
pinned to a corkboard
connected with red string
pull it forward with hooked finger
and trace back to find the culprit
(c) Measure past distance
with a squinted eye and raised thumb
recall how you wanted to be
an astronaut horse-rider
writer fire-fighter
What you want to be when you grow up
(a) refers to career not being
(b) distinguishes between career and being
(c) asks you to plan a career trajectory
Trajectories are for sling-shots
and textbook parabolas
they do not plan where to go
but go still
Grow up means
a point at which growth ends
before you get to end
see how you can grow down or sideways
Stand against your own marked wall
with dates scribbled next to pencil lines
on tippy toes, ask yourself
am I taller?
have I grown?