A Contradiction

This is not a poem, but a contradiction.

It’s how it can snow on Tuesday

and I can sunbathe on Friday.

It’s the cultural ignorance I seek

to separate myself from, all

the while knowing it’s in my skin.

It’s ice cream trucks and late

night sandwiches. Hovering

parents and absent bosses.

Going to bed when it’s light out;

waking up in the dark.

Stomach pain, noisy neighbors,

spiderwebs, dirty piles of laundry

stacked next to the bed.