girlhood, Ana Radojevic
I hold your face while I apply blush to your already flushed cheeks and for a moment we make eye contact and I'm reminded of why I love girlhood.
I'm reminded of when I was 7 and Mia and I gathered all our dining room chairs to make a fort. I’m reminded of me and Emma at 12 holding hands on a rollercoaster because I was scared. I am 15 again and Penelope laughs and puts a hand on my knee and for a moment we connect. It has been fifteen years since Ms. Havelyn held me while I cried and I’m still comforted by the perfume I will buy for her ten years later.
To me,
Girlhood is stopping someone in the campus center to tell her I love her sweater,
red lipstick staining my friend's cheek because I was excited to see her,
laughing until three am and subsequently crying at five.
It is shared songs we sing in the car and the scars we share from our exes.
It is stealing your top and you complimenting my ass before a first date.
It is debriefs on the floor after a late night on Hudson and,
It is time going missing from vodka lemonade
I hold your face while I fix your eyeliner with shaky hands and she asks if I am okay.
To Livi,
For always telling me when there is lipstick on my teeth. I love you.