I like green salads with
shredded carrots,
dried cranberries,
and crumbled blue cheese.
I like pizza with olives
and hot sauce on eggs.
But say I preferred
my vegetables cooked,
my pizza with mushrooms,
my eggs on their own—
wouldn’t I still be me?
I also like cardigan sweaters
and checkerboard Vans.
But if I traded them in
for pullover sweatshirts
and bright white Adidas—
wouldn’t I still be me?
If I wore my hair
in some other style,
wouldn’t I still be me?
If I changed my Instagram handle
or quit TikTok tomorrow,
wouldn’t I still be me?
And if I lived
in some other town,
wouldn’t I still be me?
But what if I giggled less,
or broke rules more often?
What if I never danced?
What if I were afraid of dogs,
but not afraid of heights?
What if I felt a little bit bigger
when I gazed up at the stars?
Would I still be me?