Live On Tiptoes Poem by Maya Hanson

We could have danced all night and played the music loud
but the flash
of course
was blinding

We lived slinking on the stone wall above the jungle ceiling
but the jump
of course
was fatal

In the face of endings
we look to you,
we still think you have it all,
we still live on tiptoes,
the eccentric who have spent a lifetime
carving out a space for themselves
that few will ever see

And as the train grows
I'm lying here and dreading it,
we are not another carving on the wall

They've always thought
I spend too much time inside my head
all I want is to prove them wrong.