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Caption: today, two girls came up to me and asked, “we don’t have any money — can we trade you a poem for a poem?” we were standing in the warm sun, the city loud, my… more today, two girls came up to me and asked, “we don’t have any money — can we trade you a poem for a poem?” we were standing in the warm sun, the city loud, my little table between us. they listened to my poem, which you can hear me giggle about in the linked reel (the subject matter was hilarious! 😂) and they stood, heads almost touching, smiling in that quiet way kids do when something feels special. then, they asked if they could write me one back. they didn’t pull it from a pocket. they didn’t come prepared. they took my notebook. my pen. and right there, in front of me, they started writing. they whispered. they erased. they pressed hard into the paper like they needed the words to stay. and, when they finished, they handed my notebook back and it said: “you made us smile today in the warm and happy sun. we love you very much. thank you for the fun” the spelling was imperfect. the handwriting leaned and looped and pressed too hard in certain places. and, it was perfect. i write about heartbreak and healing and longing and hope for strangers passing by. i try to give people something they can carry home. something that makes them feel seen. but no one tells you how it feels when the gift comes back. at 11 and 13, love is uncomplicated. gratitude is immediate. if something makes you smile, you say it. you write it down. you hand it over with both hands and a little nervous laugh. somewhere along the way, we start holding that in. we think we are too old to be earnest. too guarded to be that open. too busy to say “thank you.” standing there in the warm sun, trading poems with two girls who still believe joy should be spoken out loud, i felt something crack open in me: this is why i sit outside for hours. this is why i keep writing. because sometimes, in the middle of the noise and the rush and the grown up seriousness of it all, two kids will remind you that the whole point is simple: “you made me smile. thank you for the fun. we love you very much.” and maybe, that is enough. ♥️, SuperGirlReject less
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