seventeen,
if you find me again at forty
don't be so quick to judge me
give me the benefit of the doubt.
behind the practiced expressions
are a few that are still raw and true
and from the detritus of old phrases,
i've strung together odd words
into something that you might still find cool.

seventeen,
so selfish without knowing it,
don't horde all the promises and verve
save a little for me
you'll never know when you'll need a hope
to pull you from the rut of your own
footsteps.

seventeen and forty
may not seem to have a thing in common
but a thread runs constant
through changing tapestries.
forty knows it well:
tethered to memory.

seventeen,
so arrogant
and clean