Twenty years of nicknames,
jokes we’ve forgotten, secrets we’ve shared.
Twenty years rotting in bed
filling our mouths with Hawaiian rolls, cookie dough, globs
of sweetness that coated our tongues, spoiled our appetites.
I don’t know who I would be without you. I never want to find out.
You let me be a princess while you bettered yourself downstairs
but you were always perfect.
The best at being my friend.
I cut your hair that one time. Stood in your bathroom in Brooklyn over a decade later
as you cut it yourself.
Sometimes I forget to miss you.
It’s just that in my mind, you’re always right here. Connected at the hip.
We’re going to grow old together
but we haven’t yet. We’re just now
getting to the good stuff.
I’m only funny because you laughed
at me that one time and it was my favorite sound.
I’m only kind to myself because you showed me how to do it, made me feel
like a person who deserved it
I’m only brave because you began
to forge a path nineteen days before I
was born. It’s easy to be brave when you’re just ahead of me.
Everything I am is a gift that you gave me.
Every moment I cherish is one that you’re in
Today is my most favorite day.
Happy birthday, Gib.
You are my favorite part of being here in the world.
GABY!!!! That made me cry. So beautiful AVa, and so true. All of it.
What a beautiful tribute to one of my favorite people in the world!