at nineteen

a friend told me
she wouldn't wait
for me to grow up
and figure out
what i wanted in life

and she didn't

& my question was
and still is
what's the hurry
is everything so
goddamn plain
that the roadmap
you have stuck
behind your eyebrows
will somehow fade
and be unrecognizable
if you just floated along
for a while more
looking more
closely
at the terrain
outside of
yourself
thinking more deeply
might just be
a revolution in itself
bringing forward an unexpected
revelation
not just another crescendo
or dousing
of your inner heat
like a transaction
     you never intended

--- e b bortz