an ode to our life in 13A

"it’s the end

of an era"-- you said

this the other day

the era of

the two “M” girls

from the midwest, living

together in Tropical Paradise

the era of figuring

out how to catch

a jeepney + when to say,

“Para po”

the era of walking

everywhere because

we’re adventurers

so we don’t mind--we saw

more of the world

that way

the era of buko

sunsets + trying

all of the tea

shops in town

the era of late

nights at our favorite

coffee shop where they made

the best waffles

the era of “tea talks”

on our living room couch--time set

aside to talk about life as INFP’s

like us love to do

tomorrow I will get

married to the man

I love, + on Tuesday

you'll fly away

it may be the end

of Mikaela + Mallory living

in 13A, but it will never

be the end of

Mikaela + Mallory

I’ll be seeing

you when we’re in

our 80’s + we’ll talk

about the glory

days of our

twenties

I’ll speak

Tagalog + you’ll speak

Mandarin

so, like I said,

I’ll be seeing

you

+ no,

I’m not crying

*buko--coconut

*para po--a phrase to say to make the jeepney driver stop

*This poem is dedicated to my housemate + best friend as we both move on to new stages in our lives*