First by Imogene Kincaid (17, Arizona)

If your life flashed before your eyes, 
What would you remember? 
What your first kiss felt like 
Sloppy and full of possibility 
As you stood beneath a sky of stars 
Open to the world 
You're ashamed of what you dream at night

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But this 
You know this is real 
And like all real things it will come to an end
It isn’t a question of if 
Just when 
But you brush that aside 
You’ll think about it later 
Now you just want to feel 
Use the body that your mother gave you
The skills you stole from taboo paperbacks
Your sister’s high heels 
Your best friend’s bra 
The lipgloss you splurged on last weekend
You’re a collage of a girl 
Paper worlds cut up and pasted together
And protected with a layer of mod podge
You want to run away with a knapsack on your back
Hide in a museum and bathe in a fountain
You want to live in a boxcar 
Use a stream for a fridge 
You want to know what love feels like 
Is it really the purpose of life? 
But you will never really know 
What it is like to surrender your heart 
Trust it inside of that small body 
That you housed inside you for nine months
And three days 
But as that final light blooms mere feet away
You know that your life was not a waste.