On Becoming an Adult

I wasn't really living
I didn't realize it, but I wasn't
So many things to be done
All by yourself
With nobody to help you
Mom can't do it
So
You're left with only one choice
To become an adult
Or I suppose you could become a homeless person
But I feel like the novelty would wear off pretty quickly
Within a week or two

So

Now

You have a to-do list
Dry-erase marker sitting atop the white board so long it permanently stains it
You gotta renew your car registration
You've got to figure out what the fuck you're gonna do with your life
And you've gotta say you're sorry to all those people you fucked over
And reply to emails

But it's ok

This is the beginning of a new life and the death of another
One day you're gonna turn around and realize that you're out of paper towels
And a baby is gonna throw up on your chest
And you'll think back to this time
Before you became an adult
And you'll wonder who that person was
And where that person went

Well, that's the thing

That rubberstamp image of a person is never accurate
People are ever-developing things
Bodies of water
Pulled by the moon
And the organisms within it
And over the years they become so diverse
and evolved
that the things that grow inside grow legs
And walk right out of them
Into the world outside
And sometimes those things become bigger than the person ever could have been
And for that
The others remember them

For a certain amount of time

Until they're wiped away forever

Dried up

And regarded only as a slight dip in the road
On your way to some new destination