When I See You Next

I hope that next time I see you
You're a better person.
I hope that by thenyouwill havediscovered
How to live free and real.
I hope that you will have
Broken free from
The generations working against you
And from you're ever-nearing fate that's
Sitting, smoking, upon your bed.
Like mother, like daughter.

I hope thatnext time I see you
Your arms are clear
And the cuts are gone.
I hope you'll realize that the spotlight
Doesn't have to be on your suffering.
I can be on your shining, instead.

I hope that next time I see you
You know how much you mean to the people
And to the world.
I hope that you realize what's real and what's wrong.
I hope thatyou understand what happened between us,
And that you wash yourself of past mistakes
And start anew.

I hopethat when I see you in twenty years
You'll be writing with commas,
And you'll havethe kids and the man
And the house.

I hope that when you pick up my book
And read over all the poems I wrote so lovingly
And naively for you,
You will wonder where I am and revise
Who I was
Justas I will be doing for you.
And I hope that you will remember more than
What was in front of your eyes
Those savage summers.

Most of all, I wish
That when I see you next,
Or in a dozen years,
Twenty years, or
A hundred yearswhen we meetup in heaven,
You will have finally reached your happiness,
Solely by yourself,
And that's all that matters.

I hope that next time I see you
You will have lost your crown,
Fit your smile,
And truly become the sun.