23 by Marissa Salvaterra
On my birthday, I always wondered why
When we were kids, the adults would ask us
“How does it feel to be” – what, I don’t know – “eight?”
What did they want me to say?
“Well, the last quarter was rough
My mommy raised her voice at me
But I did learn to tie my shoes!”
Of course, now I know
As a certified and licensed adult
We do it to say what have you learned
About the world so far
And sometimes maybe to remember
What it was like when we had our first dream
I remember mine
A pastry chef, but also an astronaut
And in my free time
The first female president of the United States
But you can understand those dreams…
Were not challenging enough
So I started doing art
I think we stop being asked how it feels to be older
Around seventeen, if we’re lucky
Nobody wants to ask a teenager
What it’s like to be a teenager
You know it sucks
Why would you rub it in?
But when I started to look forward to being checked in on
It’s like the questions stop when you need them
And why is nobody asking can so quickly
In the mind of someone who is hurting
Become why does nobody care?
And I think we all have felt that feeling
How does it feel to be turning 23?
Well, I’m glad you asked
It’s alright!
Teenage me did not think I’d make it
I didn’t think I could get out of my bed
Let alone my whole country
To pursue a master’s degree
And you’d never guess it
But I made some friends
Who ask me how I'm doing
Even when it’s not my birthday
Whatever your journey looks like
I hope you stick around to see
All the unexpected and wonderful that can happen
I’m certainly glad I did
And I want you to remember that
Even if nobody is asking you
And you cry alone
You’re still worth asking about
And you would be surprised
Who would wipe your tears
If only they knew you felt that way
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Marissa Salvaterra is a poet-songwriter from Greensboro, North Carolina. She has been creatively writing for as long as she could hold a pencil – from piano ballads about Sigmund Freud and cheese to short stories about monkey superheroes and quirky whodunnits.
After the loss of a friend during her adolescence, she recognized a need for more spaces to talk about mental health. When she joined her high school’s poetry club, she saw how writing and performing helped other students to evaluate life challenges as meaningful
stories and opportunities to connect. She began to write poems like 23 to motivate others to believe in change and reach out for help.
Her interest in the unwritten stories of human experience inspired her to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. She is now completing her Master of Science in Global Mental Health and Society from The
University of Edinburgh, where she hosted her first mental health open mic night.
Marissa is currently writing her dissertation in a collaborative effort with the Scottish Poetry Library to create poems out of interviews with poetry figures in Scotland that describe the effects of poetry on wellbeing. She aims to combine her experience as
a creative and a social scientist to help others cope with distress, reconnect with their creativity, and experience the healing that comes from being understood.
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