Love Poem to a Younger Self
By Madeline Langlinais
I miss you
barefoot girl
running across the yard
so big, so big!
and fast and free as anything.
I miss the dew on your skin
I miss the cold of it, the thrill
the grass, stuck between your toes
the rocks and dirt
and cicada shells
spinning in circles in the mud
and wild onions under
your fingernails.
I’m tired
My fingernails smell like nothing most days.
My feet are too dry in my boots
and the yard is so flat,
so small.
Author Bio
​Maddie is a graduate of the University of Evansville with a bachelor's degree in creative writing. Her passions lie in reading fiction, specifically fantasy and science fiction pieces with intricate world-building and social commentary, as well as writing critical reviews in music, movies and television. She has written several poems and short stories, though she has yet to publish any of them in an official capacity, and have aspirations to work in the fields of literature and publication.
This piece was written during the author's Sophmore year of college for an Intro to Poetry course.