By. Lauren Jahn
If I could talk to
Seventeen-year-old me
I wouldn’t.
Instead,
I’d sit crisscross applesauce
Empathizing
I’d pull her to rest on my shoulder
give her permission to release
the weight of her emptiness
the certainty of her self-doubt
the sincerity of her shame
the direction of her aimlessness
I wouldn’t tilt her away from her current path
Like a knee guiding a steering wheel into another lane
I’d park parallel and silently love her
Consistently remain
as a present tense state-of-being verb
Letting her learn
I am.
I was.
I will be.
Loved. Without compassion fatigue
Lauren Jahn is a teacher, gardener, mother, wife, ally, Christian, learner, survivor. Born and raised in South Dakota, Lauren works for educational programs and constructs lesson plans for individual or statewide use. She is a first time mom, and a long time empath. Reach her
on Instagram with 100wordsbylauren or on TeachersPayTeachers at Lingeringloveofliterature.