Congratulations
by Paul Skiba, MS1
Breathe in.
Think of where you came from.
Think of your mother
washing floors for rich white women in Chicago
as her third job,
because she knew
that every floor she washed
would be one less that you would have to.
Think of how you got here.
Think of flipping through
tear soaked flashcards
on the way to class.
Telling everyone you loved,
through coffee stained lies,
that it was worth it.
Because you knew,
one day,
you would reach ecstasy
when you were standing where you are
right now.
Think of how selfish you were.
When you were a slave to achievement.
Ceaselessly clawing your way up
an avalanche of miserable success.
So that now you can sacrifice your
sanity and freedom
to a stranger.
Like a drunken fool,
your choices make sense
only to you.
Think of what drove you here.
Which paths were boarded up
that led you to spot this
beautiful
endless trail
that you could never
focus your eyes away from.
Scraping through thorns and
drowning in rapids
trying to cross another river.
Did you ever escape,
or is tumbling through
coarse time-shaped sediment
what you have always been after?
Does the water flooding your lungs
give you life?
Think of how happy you once were.
When energy was transformed
just for you,
and entered your soul
through your ear drums.
Oscillating waves of bliss,
sharing with you
one word
that would reinforce your dreams
and begin to sculpt
within yourself
the David of your future.
Congratulations.
Breathe out.
Read her chart, knock on the door, and walk in.
And don’t forget to fucking smile,
because you finally made it.