‘Twas The Night Before My Birthday

Saying goodbye to 20–

This is about my birthday 

Which is tomorrow depending on when you’re reading this 

When I will be 21 

Tomorrow, on November 4th, 2019 

21 is when my growth will be finalized–

I will be 5’6” for the rest of my life 

Until I start to shrink of old age and bad posture

Then I’ll be too short for roller coasters 

And I’ll have to ask for help to reach top shelves 

21 is about looking towards the future–

No longer a girl, finally a woman 

Men will take credit for the things I do 

And my bones will stop absorbing calcium 

But 21 is also about reflecting on the past–

The adventures I’ve had, the places I’ve been  

I went to Venice once

It was nice for sure 

But I was on my period and I ran into my rabbi 


21, 21, what is 21?

21 is not the loneliest number, because that band is called

21 Pilots, who actually are called “Twenty One Pilots” which is cool 

But even they wish they could “Turn back time

To the good old days”

To drink! Is something I will be able to do–

Except I already know what that’s like 

Because I took a gap year 

And spent it abroad 

Which means not in America 

For those of you who didn’t take a gap year


One day I will look back at 21 

And I will ask myself 

Why I wrote such a poem

And then publish it 

On the Internet

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