when I grow up

by Rory Baskin

become the fresh summer air playing on your skin

(become the gnawing in your gut every time you look away into emptiness)

become the brilliant leaves floating to the ground before you

(become the wonderings and wishing about what comes after this)

become the sunset-simple warmth flooding your cheeks

(become the irresistible pull of a fire that’s growing every moment)

become all the everyday pleasures

and only the forgettable pains

before they become the end of you

Rory Baskin is a high school student in California with a passion for creative writing. Her work is published in Trouvaille Review, Cathartic Literary Magazine, Petrichor Magazine, and Dream Noir Magazine. She is also an editor for Flare Journal.