La nina fresca

LA NINA FRESCA

Picking because I'm hungry there's an array of options in front of me. 

I've got Swedish Fish but I got that last time.

Maybe oreos nah I can get those anywhere.

Cherry slurp today I say.  

I skip my way out to go about my day.

7-Eleven was this magical place I strode out and into heaven. 

Now I just go for gas,but 

since cherry slurpee days are my past

my appetite isn't the only thing that's grown. 

Ya see I'm still hungry the type to walk into rooms

head held high, full of aspirations and leave with blessings.

They say having contact with your inner child is beneficial. 

Well let me tell you about mine. 

A fresh likkle girl, some did say.

A secure mouth I'd say. 

She's not sassy, she just ensures she's heard. 

She loves to eat and whenever she does she leaves no crumbs. 

She loved the color pink and that has changed.

She hated wearing dresses and that has changed.

She never had a dollar, yet always had change?

Little Isa was feisty and fierce.

She woke up flawless. 

She was full of wonder

curiosity about what she would amount to

but then she had epiphanies. 

When Wayne said no letting go

no holding back he was talking to her. 

Y'all really think fresh likkle girls don't listen, but we do.

I listened to Beyoncé and felt flawless.

I listened to Wayne Wonder and decided to never let go

and never hold back just look how far that's gotten me.

The abundance of pride I have for this "disobedient"

inner child of mine is immeasurable.

I applaud her high expectations, encourage all of her boundaries,

accept her pickiness with food and people,

and most of all I admire her growth.  

Occasionally we become preoccupied, giving everyone their flowers

and neglect to get ourselves a bouquet. 

Little Isa and I are interlinked. 

Thus we are locked in.

There is a mental tussle 

she has numerous demands 

and I just adhere to them

the best way I know how.

I've come to the conclusion that every time

I check in with the adolescent version of me,

I feel more rooted in myself than ever. 

Today 7-Eleven trips are mandatory

not solely for gas but for my queen size cherry slurpee.

It's a craving that I know that will never cease. 

This self deprecating habit is over. 

People pleasing is done. 

Belittling oneself to comfort others is now uncool.  

Practice is canceled today. 

We're going to 7-Eleven. 

On this trip you will be called 

Greedy,

Self-serving,

Stubborn,

Cold,

High-maintenance,

and any other label they slander you with

from the book titled Your Not Operating In Alignment With Me. 

I urge you to be that. 

Do that. 

Embody all those characteristics all the time

in the most unapologetic way. 

This is how you refrain from being a product of your environment

and establish an environment that's a product of you. 

Return all the energy you deplete trying to explain yourself 

by correcting false narratives and go get yourself a bouquet. 

Take a trip to 7-Eleven.