17 Poem by Genevieve Surrender

17 years and arithmatic.

adding ten and seven.

On my seventh birthday
of january seventh
I'd lost my seventh tooth.

At ten I found a goal
that one day
I knew I'd set true.


17 years

adding two and fifteen

year two, I grew hair
on my head
for the first time in life.

at fifteen I knew death
and some lack of compassion
in a woman's eyes.


17 years

adding five and twelve

A five year old
with a brand new pet to love
and cherish as a best friend.

Twelve, I learned more than I should
in two separate cars
one I was in, one I was not.


For but 17 years
a girl can bite off more than she can chew

All she needs to learn
is how to stomach
the happiness that can come with loss,
direction and ambition,
creation of something from nothing,
deception,
compassion,
and overall,
change.