Day 784: Senior Goodbye

"Cheer up, Charli
give me a smile"

we sang these songs into the empty auditorium
into the rafters
into the trap doors beneath us
tried to make legends of ourselves
with music
written by dead white men
and yet
we were told these would be the moments we remembered
how the silence of applause would crack our voices
and we do
remember the rehearsals
the hours spent in confined spaces learning to move our bodies in unatural ways
the orange hair die
but most of all
the promises we made not to change
how we lied to every single one of our best friends
said
weʻd be together forever
that we are always just a phone call away
when nothing could be further from the truth
how now
our bodies are built of steel cages
like factory gates
no one go in
no one comes out