what do you want to be when you grow up?

Art by Sandi Shao

i wonder what it’s like to be an astronaut

to drift in the recesses of space

unspoken and soundless and alone.

i wonder what it’s like to be weightless

only because gravity is a fleeting thing and

not because my mind has unraveled

and disconnected from my body.

i wonder what it’s like to be tethered

to be anchored to the side of a spaceship

so that when my strength fails me i

do not simply float away.

i wonder what it’s like to breathe recycled

air and know exactly when the oxygen will

run out and be able to tell myself that

the tightness in my lungs is all in my head.

i wonder what it’s like to look into the sun

to watch it glow around the edges of the

earth and know that i am untouchable.

#poetry