tom

If you’re anything like karyn,

You bite your tail,

And hiss when you’re nervous.

You promise people inflatedness,

because that’s what they want from you.

You like giving them what they want…

But karyn, you need to stop,

If you’re anything like Karyn,

You bite on wood every time you make plans.

You cross your tongue, hold your venom,

Wish on lucky helium and shedded skin

Your superstitions were the lone survivors of the shipwreck.

Rest In Peace, to your naive bravado…

If life gets too good now,

Karyn, it scares you.

If you’re anything like me,

You never wanted to lock your shipping crate door,

Your secret garden gate or your diary drawer

Didn’t want to face the you you don’t know anymore

For fear she was much better before…

But Karyn, now you have to.

If you’re anything like me,

There’s a justice system in your head

For names you’ll never hiss again,

And you make your ruthless rulings.

Each new enemy turns to steel

They become the bars that confine you,

In your own little golden prison cell…

But Karyn, there is where you meet yourself.

@taylorswift

🎵 say it’s been a long... six.... months..... 🎶

A half-year who today, 11.3.19, I ran the New York City Marathon, my first race ever! I was raising money for the charter school where I work with special education youth of color in an underserved Brooklyn neighborhood. I was training through a grueling knee injury (not to mention working full time and studying for the GRE), but whenever I was listening to Taylor, the laps around Prospect Park Lake seemed to melt away.