Someday I’ll Love Hannah Kelly

After claire schwartz/After Ocean Vuong/After Frank O’Hara/After Roger Reeves

Hannah, don’t dim your eyes to let others see.

You are not a tour guide

you’re a trailblazer.

If you listen to bees

building hives in your head

speak louder.

Let your voice blow out speakers,

blow out every anxious thought you’ve ever had

and then look up at the sky.

Whether it’s blue or black or gray

just look up at it

and realize how lucky you are

to be alive.

Remember the cattle drives of 76th street,

(whether it was true or not)

your mother told her teachers

“the cows are out, I can’t come to class”

then she rode on her horse

over the field they built the mall on.

Life goes on,

it goes on, it goes on.

And it’s going to go on without you

if you don’t look up.

Don’t lose hope in love

but stop looking for someone to fix you,

if you’ve come with missing parts

build new ones.

Wear bright colors.

Sit in the sun.

Write even on hard days.