Poetry by Naomi Acosta

Edited by Katherine Llave

It’s stupid, isn’t it?

Attachment.

And it doesn’t matter what type,
because it’s all 

stupid. 

Because why?
Why get attached
                                  if everything leaves in the end…
                                                                                                or dies…
                                                                                                                or disappears…

But that was supposed to be the magical thing about things.
People–

People disappoint. 

But things?
               They are supposed to last–
                                                                Meant to last– 

    It’s people that disappoints the things.

They lose it.
       They break it.
              They discard it……But this isn’t a “they” thing…It’s a “me” and “you” thing. 

Because I didn’t lose you.
                                           Or break you.
                                                                       Or discard you.
                                                                                                             And you didn’t leave me
                                                                                     Or die
                                                         Or disappear. 

No, you’ll still be there after me……and I’ll continue on after you, 

                                                           And you’ll become a rest stop in my life, 
                               And all of this is out of our control, 
                                                           And I feel so goddamn…stupid.

                Because everyone else seems so nonchalant as if
                                                            this was always meant to happen.
                                                                                  Always a part of the timeline. 

  That we weren’t meant to stay and yet– 

I still feel so sad. 

Because I remember our first meal together.

Crappy takeout and
the vow my family made to never order from that place again.

I remember our first movie night. 

We watched “Remember the Titans” and 
I cried despite knowing how it ended. 

I remember
                everything. 

My first heartbreak
My first date
My first real friend 

And even the stuff that wasn’t first.
                                                            My anxiety attacks
                                                                                               My all nighters
                                                                                                                              My sleepovers 

Everything. 

Because for the past 8 years
                             Those 4 walls were my room.
                                                       The roof was my sky. 
                                                               The kitchen was my gourmet restaurant. 
                                                                                The living room was my movie theater. 

And you?
You were my 

Home.
And I know this was always a part of the plan.
I know we would eventually move away.
But it still sucks.
And it’s all… 

stupid.

---

Artist Statement: Goodbye– It’s been a good 8 years, but it’s over, so move on (or at least that’s what I tell myself) is a poem about moving away and leaving everything you once knew behind. It speaks about my experience of my family moving from our home during my third year of college. As we were moving, I couldn’t help but to look around at the rooms and reminisce about everything I had experienced no matter how insignificant. It’s a personal piece that explores what a home is.